One Last Song
by Marvelguy00
Summary: After learning the truth about his mother's real identity, Steven feels lost, but with the discovery of a new power and the Diamonds coming to Earth one last time to fulfill their revenge, he will have no other choice but to fight to protect his home, family and friends. Will Steven be able to end what his mother started? (Follows the events of "A Single Pale Rose")
1. Chapter 1: A painful truth

**CHAPTER I: A PAINFUL TRUTH**

"Mom was Pink Diamond…"

Steven finally understood. His mother couldn't have killed Pink Diamond. He always wanted to believe that, From the moment Eyeball revealed the truth about how Rose Quartz managed to win the gem war, to this very day. Then there was Pearl. He never told her, scared of how she would react, but he always thought of her as a mother. He remembered how that slim silhouette he saw in his dream, slowly crept behind Pink Diamond, pulling out his mother's sword, ready to strike. He never wanted to believe that either. But the truth, the one that his mother managed to conceal, to her friends, to her love, even to the Diamonds themselves and… to her very own son, it was something he wasn't prepared for. Garnet was shaking, Amethyst's eyes became wide as dinner plates as she kept asking questions, and Pearl, poor Pearl, had both her hands clamped on her mouth. She couldn't answer, she just kept shaking her head, while tears streamed down her cheeks. Steven didn't hear any of them. He remained on his knees, eyes fixated on the ground, his mind lost in a myriad of emotions, doubts and questions. He wasn't angry, he was… disappointed, confused and sad. He remained silent, almost unmoving, until a bright light caught his attention. He turned around to see Garnet coming undone, Ruby and Sapphire falling ungracefully on the ground.

"What… how could you… ngah!" Ruby yelled angrily getting up and stomping her foot down.

"I-it wasn't her fault!" Steven tried to intervene, but became silent, as the air around the small group suddenly became cold, almost freezing.

"You made us live a lie, for thousands of years." Sapphire murmured.

"Sapphi…" Ruby whispered, stepping close to her, trying to reach her, but Sapphire turned around and ran away before she could, reaching the warp pad and disappearing into the beam of light.

"Ruby… I'm-" Pearl tried to speak but was cut off by the fuming red gem.

"I don't wanna hear it! Sapphire!" Ruby cried, stepping on the warp pad and disappearing shortly after.

Pearl was going to follow but Steven stopped her, taking her hand and gently pulling her back.

"Don't worry, I'll go make sure they're okay." Steven said, trying his best to give her a reassuring smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want… I didn't want to hurt them." Pearl said wiping her cheeks.

"I know. Don't worry, everything will be alright." Steven hugged her, he didn't know if everything would have turned out fine, but he hoped it would, and in that moment, he needed Pearl to believe that. The pale gem hugged him back, a little tighter than usual, before letting go.

Steven ran up to the warp pad, trying to imagine where Ruby and Sapphire could have gone. He thought for a moment, then extended his arms a concentrated. In a matter of seconds, he was engulfed in a bright light and when it faded, he knew he had guessed right. The strawberry battlefield. Sapphire was sitting on the ground, shaking, frozen tears falling from her face. Ruby was behind her. She slowly approached Sapphire and kneeled behind her, hesitating for a moment before embracing her.

"She lied to us… she lied to us for so long… Rose and Pearl both did…" Sapphire hissed the two names in a tone of voice Steven hoped never to hear again.

"I-it wasn't Pearl's fault." Steven said, approaching the two small gems.

"What?! Of course it is! She's our friend! Or at least, I though she was…" Ruby whispered between gritted teeth.

"But she couldn't tell you! She couldn't tell anybody! Mom… mom ordered her not to…" Steven said, the image of his mother giving Pearl her last order still fresh in his mind.

"She could have… she could have… ugh I don't know!" Ruby screamed.

"Steven is right…" Sapphire muttered, turning around and closing her hands around Ruby's.

"B-but-" Ruby tried to speak, but Sapphire interrupted her.

"It was wrong of me to accuse her… she was given an order by her diamond. As terrible as it is to say this, a pearl can't disobey her diamond's commands." Sapphire said, exhaling a trembling breath.

"I… I guess you're right, b-but still, it hurts. She was our leader, she was our friend! We fought alongside her in a war! Her war! We gave her everything and she still… she still didn't trust us enough to tell us." Ruby felt her own tears start to fall.

"I know…" Sapphire couldn't say much else, she felt exactly the same way.

"Are… are you two mad at me?" Steven chimed in, his voice small and frightened.

"What?! No no no! Steven, you didn't do anything wrong! I mean, you should be angry too!" Ruby said, waving her arms in the air.

"I… I feel kinda sad and… disappointed but-" Steven began to talk but suddenly, he became quiet, eyes roaming the battlefield.

"What is it?" Ruby asked, looking around.

"Don't you feel it?" Steven asked in a hushed voice.

Then Ruby felt it, and so did Sapphire. The ground was shaking, and each passing second, it shook more violently, until all of them saw something approaching. Something big.

͠

"Amethyst… please talk to me." Pearl said, sitting on the couch beside the purple gem.

"What do you want me to say Pearl…" Amethyst muttered without looking at her.

"Anything, please anything. This situation is already stressful enough-" Pearl tried to speak but was abruptly cut off.

"Stressful?! Oh oh, you say it's stressful Pearl?! I just discovered that the gem that took me out of that dirt hole where I was made was actually the one who created that place!" Amethyst yelled in anger.

"She loved you Amethyst, she loved all of us. She meant it when she said you're perfect the way you are, this doesn't change anything." Pearl said, but Amethyst wasn't having any of that.

"She was a dirty liar! She came here and started a war that ruined this planet and turned all of her friends into monsters!" Amethyst regretted saying those words the same moment they came out of her mouth. Her expressions softened seeing Pearl cover her mouth and start crying again.

"I'm sorry." Pearl kept saying over and over.

"Geez P, I'm… I'm sorry too… I'm just angry, come here." Amethyst said reaching out for the pale gem, hugging her and keeping her close until she stopped crying. "I know she loved us and… I know she meant all the things she said to me. But it hurts to know she never trusted me or Garnet enough to tell us."

"I wish I could tell you all about her." Pearl sniffed loudly before letting her go and wiping her cheeks.

"I know P. We should go after them, don't you think?" Amethyst asked, smiling at her.

That was enough to cheer her up, at least a bit. Pearl smiled back and nodded.

͠

Steven, Ruby and Sapphire remained petrified as they saw what caused the ground to shake. A corrupted gem, similar to the one Jasper fused with months before, with light green skin and darker green stripes. The monster slowed down as it reached the group and let out a powerful roar.

"Sapphi, we have to fuse now!" Ruby exclaimed, taking Sapphire's hands and pulling her up.

But nothing happened.

"Come on, come on!" Ruby yelled, closing her eyes and concentrating as hard as she could.

There was a bright light, but as soon as it began to glow, it faded away, leaving the two small gems on the ground.

"Why doesn't it work?!" Ruby cried, pulling her hair in frustration.

"I… I'm sorry, I don't…" Sapphire stammered.

The beast crept closer, emitting a deep growl. Ruby stood in front of Sapphire, summoning her gauntlet and assuming a fighting stance. The corrupted gem let out another powerful roar before charging towards the small red gem.

"Oh boy, that's gonna hurt…" Ruby whispered as she braced herself.

But suddenly, the monster stopped its charge.

"Steven!" Both Ruby and Sapphire cried as they saw the young boy standing right in front of the monster.

The corrupted gem raised itself on its hind legs before stomping the ground and shaking its mane. Maybe it was trying to scare Steven away, but the boy didn't move a muscle. The monster growled again, but this time it didn't sound like a menacing sound. It moved closer before sniffing at him. Then it sneezed, making Steven snicker. The monster titled its head in confusion.

"H-hey, I don't want to hurt you." Steven said quietly as he moved his hand towards the very large corrupted gem.

"Steven! Don't touch it!" Ruby whispered through gritted teeth.

But Steven didn't listen to her, and slowly, very, very slowly, he reached for the monster mane and scratched it. The beast seemed to appreciate the gesture and let out a sound that could be interpreted as a purr. That wasn't a monster. Not really. That was a gem. A very big, scary gem, but still a gem. She was only scared, confused, much like all of them in that moment.

"I'm sorry this happened to you…" Steven whispered as he kept caressing the warm, soft, white fur.

And indeed, Steven was sorry. He was sorry this gem couldn't understand him. He was sorry that so many others had to suffer the same fate, that so many others had to suffer for the Earth to be saved. He was sorry he couldn't do anything for her, to make her feel better. He was sorry the Diamonds did this to her. The Diamonds…

"Damage from the Diamonds…" Steven whispered to himself.

He suddenly remembered what Centipeetle had shown to him through her drawings. She showed him her ship, her crew, her commander. She showed him the war, the defeat of Homeworld… and the revenge of the Diamonds. 'You heard something, from the sky, a sound, a… a song?'.

"A song…"

And then Steven realized. What if there was something he could do to help this gem? The Diamonds used their powers to wipe out the remains of the rebellion, tearing the fabric of their minds, mutating them into mindless beasts. It was a power like no other. Because the terrible song came from the Diamonds, no other gem in the entire universe could do something to repair the damage it caused, because no other gem was as powerful as them. But if a Diamond had a power like that, to distort the form of a gem, then, maybe a Diamond also had the power to restore it. Steven closed his eyes, leaning towards the monster until their foreheads slightly touched.

"I hope this will help you…" Steven whispered.

And then he sang.

 **Alright guys, this is the first chapter of what might become a multi-chapter story! I really hope you liked it this far. I only have one thing to ask, please let me know in the comments if I should continue this story. I adored the new episodes, especially "A single pale rose". I really wanted to write a fan fiction that would continue from that point, and if you like it and want me to write other chapters, I have some ideas that maybe you could find interesting. If I continue, I think this is going to become a fanfiction about how I think the show is going to end, so expect the Diamonds to appear, alongside many, many other beloved characters from the past, but I don't want to say too much. Alright, so thanks for reading and tell me if I should continue, bye bye!**


	2. Chapter 2: Searching for an answer

**CHAPTER II: SEARCHING FOR AN ANSWER**

Meanwhile, on Homeworld:

"My Diamond!" Two quartz soldiers saluted, standing up straight as they saw Yellow Diamond approach.

The gem matriarch barely eyed the two sentinels, reaching the door they were guarding. As soon as she made a brief gesture with her hand, one of the two guards immediately opened the door. Yellow Diamond passed through the entrance ignoring the salutes of her soldiers, her mind elsewhere. They had Rose Quartz right in front of them, but she managed to escape her punishment, another time. And not only she did escape, but somehow, she stole a ship and left Homeworld alongside a group of defective gems who have been hiding right under their feet for who knows how long. It was unacceptable. It was unacceptable that Rose Quartz was still alive. It was unacceptable that she managed to find more allies. It was unacceptable that Emerald, a gem whom she regarded highly enough to trust her with one of the most powerful imperial warships on Homeworld failed in her mission to destroy them and let them get away. But most of all, it was unacceptable that since Rose Quartz's trial ended, Blue Diamond had spent every second of the last month segregated in the Royal Archives. A gigantic structure containing thousands of years of recorded gem history. Yellow couldn't understand it, there were tons of evidence that Rose Quartz was the one who shattered Pink Diamond, even eye witnesses, but Blue wouldn't have any of it. She was certain she could find the answers she was looking for, and that this was the place where she could find them. 'Insignificant pebble.' Yellow thought, remembering Blue Zircon's defense speech during the trial. How dared that puny imbecile accusing one of them of shattering Pink. If it wasn't for Blue Diamond, she would have shattered the incompetent excuse of a lawyer immediately. But no, Blue wanted her at her side during her ridiculous research. The gem matriarch pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to focus as she made her way towards main hall of the Royal Archives. Reaching a small desk, she noticed a short, skinny Apatite who was sitting behind it. Seeing how she remained with her eyes fixed on the holo screen in front of her, lazily swiping her finger left and right, Yellow cleared her throat, trying her best not to puff the small "librarian" right on the spot. The Apatite exhaled deeply, an annoyed expression on her face, before raising her face from the holo screen on her desk. Her expression immediately changed from annoyed to terrified. She gulped hard and hastily bent her arms in a diamond salute, lowering her gaze.

"A t-thousand apologies m-my D-Diamond! Please f-forgive-" Apatite tried to speak but was shortly cut off.

"Enough, in which section did Blue Diamond go? I need to talk to her." Yellow explained quickly.

"O-of course my Diamond! Her royal highness Blue Diamond went to the highly classified section, if I remember correctly, one month ago… I never saw her again after-" Apatite said but interrupted herself as she saw her Diamond holding up a hand.

"That will suffice." Yellow turned around and left for the elevator.

The Diamond Matriarch remained silent as the lift started to move, bringing her to the top floor. As soon as the doors opened, she stepped off and began to look for Blue. The highly classified section mostly contained records of the gem war and of the "Cluster" project, so it was rather small. Then, after a minute of searching, she began to hear voices.

"Have you found anything?" It was Blue's voice.

"No my Diamond, I'm afraid not." Blue Zircon replied.

"Keep searching, there must be something we forgot."

"There's nothing to look for Blue." Yellow Diamond said, coming into view.

Blue Zircon released a small yelp and took a step back, saluting her but not daring to look her in the eyes. Blue Diamond looked rather surprised, but only for a moment, before resuming her search.

"Blue…" Yellow called her, but Blue didn't look at her. "Blue…" She repeated, stepping closer, her tone of voice changed, it wasn't commanding or harsh, it was… sad, worried.

That got Blue's attention. It was a rare thing to hear that kind of tone coming from Yellow.

"You haven't talked to me for a month." Yellow could see a hint of shame in Blue's eyes.

"I've been busy." Blue answered, not raising her gaze.

"I know, but this isn't healthy, torturing yourself over something that you already have the answers to."

"I don't have any answer to my questions! That's why I'm here!" Blue cried.

"Why are you doing this?! Why now?!" Yellow yelled in anger.

"You know why! We don't know what really happened, we were so angry that we accepted the first explanation we gave ourselves, but that doesn't make any sense!" Blue shot back.

"Because of something an incompetent, insignificant zircon said?! You should have let me shatter her!" If a look could kill, Yellow Diamond's one would have shattered the poor zircon in an instant.

"Do not threaten the gems of my court! Especially the one who has been so brave to challenge our view of the situation, and turned out to be right!" Blue stepped in front of her zircon.

"You don't know that!"

"Yes, I do!"

"You're coming with me, we're going to leave this place and you'll go back to your duties as the Diamond you are!"

"I'm not going to sit tight and do nothing like you!"

Both Diamonds became silent. Yellow inhaled deeply before taking a step forward. She raised her hand, cupping Blue's cheek, who tried to step away for a moment, but only for a moment, before leaning in and exhaling a teary sigh.

"Look at what this whole thing is doing to us Blue. You haven't talked to me for so long. You stayed here for too long. I… I missed you." Yellow whispered.

"I missed you too, I'm… I'm sorry I yelled at you, you didn't deserve that…" Blue spoke quietly.

"I know you want to discover the truth Blue, I know you want to make justice for Pink, don't you think I loved her too?" Yellow asked.

"I… I know you did."

"Good. Listen to me now, we heard many gems say that they saw with their eyes Rose Quartz shatter Pink Diamond, do you think they would ever lie to us? To their Diamonds?"

"No… but-" Blue tried to argue, but Yellow interrupted her.

"And even if Rose didn't shatter Pink, wasn't she the one who started the rebellion?"

"Yes. Yes she did start the rebellion." Blue agreed.

"And it's because of her rebellion that Pink died, doesn't she deserve a punishment for that?"

"Yes, she deserves a punishment for that, you're right, you're always right. I'm sorry." Blue stepped closer and fell into Yellow's arms.

It was rare to see the Diamonds in a moment like that. They always behaved like they had no emotions, because of course, they had to act as they were above the rest. Only a few confidents had the privilege to witness these moments. Both Blue Zircon and Blue Diamond's pearl, who remained silent and on the sidelines for the whole time, lowered their gazes.

"I know you are…" Yellow whispered.

But the tender moment didn't last as the two quartz guards Yellow Diamond met at the entrance of the archives bursted out of the elevator's doors, panting heavily.

"What is it?" Yellow asked through gritted teeth.

"M-my Diamond… a group of gems with no authorization have been discovered while they were trying to infiltrate one of your asteroid mines!" One of the quartzes said aloud.

"Rose…" Yellow Diamond hissed.

"W-what are the orders m-my Diamond?"

"Call Captain Emerald of the royal fleet. I just might have the job she was searching for to redeem herself after her last failure."

 **And so here we are, at the second chapter of my new fanfiction. I know, I know. Where the heck is Steven's song?! I was going to write the second chapter about it, but then my mind wandered away, thinking about what the Diamonds may have been doing in the meantime. I know, I know. "Who the heck cares?!" Many of you are surely saying right now, but I promise to all of you that Steven's song will come in the next chapter, so soon you'll** **discover if he truly has the power to cure corruption. It's just that I have many ideas and since I'd like to write at least ten chapters for this story, I had to write a chapter about other characters. So, I guess you understood that Lars and the off colors are going to appear, but also many, many others, so stay tuned for the next chapter! I know, I know. "Give us that song moment. If you will, that'll be the end of it. If you won't, we will look for you, we will find you and we will kill you." I promise, tomorrow or the day after I will publish the third chapter, come on guys, is it not perhaps the wait for pleasure, pleasure itself? Also, thank you for all the kind reviews, all the favs and follows, geez, so many with just one chapter, I must be doing something right.**


	3. Chapter 3: A cure from the Diamonds

**CHAPTER III: A CURE FROM THE DIAMONDS**

"I'm sorry this happened to you…" Steven whispered as he kept caressing the warm, soft, white fur of the corrupted gem in front of him.

And indeed, Steven was sorry. He was sorry this gem couldn't understand him. He was sorry that so many other gems had to suffer the same fate. He was sorry for what the Diamonds did to her. The Diamonds…

"Damage from the Diamonds…" Steven whispered to himself.

He suddenly remembered what Centipeetle had shown to him through her drawings. Her ship, her crew, her commander. She showed him the war, the defeat of Homeworld… and the revenge of the Diamonds. 'You heard something, from the sky, a sound, a… a song?'.

"A song…"

And then Steven realized. What if there was something he could do to help this gem? The Diamonds used their powers to wipe out the remains of the rebellion, tearing the fabric of their minds, mutating them into mindless beasts. It was a power like no other. Because the terrible song came from the Diamonds, no other gem in the entire universe could do something to repair the damage it caused, because no other gem was as powerful as them. But if a Diamond had a power like that, to distort the form of a gem, then, maybe a Diamond also had the power to restore it. Steven closed his eyes, leaning towards the monster until their foreheads slightly touched.

"I hope this will help you…" Steven whispered.

"No! Steven, step back!" Sapphire tried to convince him, seeing hundreds of futures in which the monster would attack the little boy.

"Steven!" Ruby called him.

But Steven didn't listen to them. The only thing he listened to, was the strangely calm breath of the gem in front of him, and the sound of his own heart. He didn't really know what words to use, but strangely enough, they seemed to come to his mind almost… naturally. He remained silent for a moment, and then…

Steven sang.

 _"_ _I know you're hurting,_

 _you don't remember who you used to be,_

 _maybe you feel lost,_

 _that's what's happening now to me,_

 _you've fought for what you believed in,_

 _perhaps freedom or its opposite…_

 _it doesn't matter what you've done,_

 _you have suffered long enough_

 _and I don't know if this is helping_

 _to remove those sad old cuffs,_

 _but I promise I will try_

 _and if it doesn't work don't cry,_

 _I will return and bring some snacks_

 _and I'll keep trying…_

 _untill…_

 _you're…_

 _back…"_

Steven fell silent. He closed his eyes and quietly whispered 'please come back'. Then, suddenly, the monster began to scream. The loud shriek caused Steven to fall back on the ground. He looked at the monster holding its head with both of his… hands. They weren't clawed anymore, they were just… hands. Steven looked in amazement as the corrupted gem's form began to glow, and so did Ruby and Sapphire. But as soon as its shape began to change, a white spear flew above the young boy, plunging itself deep in the monster chest.

"Steven!" It was Pearl's voice.

The monster exploded into a cloud of smoke, leaving its gem on the ground.

"Dude! What were you thinking?! That monster could have eaten you!" Amethyst yelled, reaching Steven and helping him stand up.

"Pearl! Why did you do that?!" Steven cried, picking up the green gem, flashing an apologetic look before turning towards Pearl.

"I… that monster was going to attack you!" Pearl answered, confused, not really understanding what she did wrong.

"No! I was trying to cure her!" Steven replied.

"Cure… her?" Pearl muttered.

"Dude, you were singing a song." Amethyst said, scratching the back of her head.

"Exactly! Her hands were back to normal and even the rest of her was changing!"

"Steven, maybe you were imagining things, corruption isn't something you can-" Pearl tried to reason, but was interrupted.

"Steven is right. That corrupted gem was changing." Sapphire said, reaching the small group alongside Ruby.

"Yeah! Her hands weren't clawed anymore, and I bet even the rest of her was going back to normal!" Ruby chimed in.

"Sapphire… Ruby… I'm so sorry…" Pearl's tone was sincere, both of the two small gems knew that.

"We know you are Pearl… but we'll need time… all of us." Sapphire said, while Ruby simply crossed her arms and slightly grunted.

The group made its way towards the warp pad. As they returned home, Sapphire and Ruby inhaled deeply before joining their hands. This time, they both glowed bright, and in a matter of seconds, Garnet was back.

"Steven, please explain it to us, Rose…" Garnet stopped herself, the sound of Rose's name felt so strange now that she knew the truth. After a moment, she shook her head and continued. "Rose tried to cure corrupted gems in many ways, she tried for a long time before deciding that the only thing that we could do for them was to bubble them and let them rest. So how did you understand the way to cure them was to… sing?" Garnet asked.

"It seems a little too simple…" Pearl wondered out loud but immediately shut herself as she saw Garnet giving her a warning look.

"Well I-" Steven tried to explain but was interrupted by the sound of the bathroom's door slamming open.

"Wait… did I hear correctly?! Steven managed to find a way to reverse the effects of the Diamonds' mutagenic attack?!" Peridot yelled as she came out from the bathroom and ran up to the group.

"Yeah, and Rose was actually Pink Diamond." Amethyst added.

"WHAT?!" Peridot cried in disbelief, taking a few steps back.

"Amethyst…" Garnet muttered, shaking her head. "This is not the time to talk about what Rose did… this is the time to talk about what Steven did. Steven…"

"Right, remember when I kinda cured Centi? She told me about the gem war, and how she was a captain. She and her crew were going to leave the Earth when the war ended but they got separated and were caught by the Diamonds' attack. She told me she saw a bright light and she heard something coming from the sky…"

"What was it?" Pearl asked.

"A song…"

The group fell silent.

"So the Diamonds used their power in the form of a song to corrupt the remains of the rebellion…" Garnet thought for a moment.

"And if the Diamonds used a song to corrupt all those gems…" Pearl continued.

"You figured out that a song could cure them! Great job ste-man!" Amethyst exclaimed, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Yes, I'm proud of you Steven." Garnet smiled, gently ruffling his hair.

"I know that…" Pearl hesitated, "I know that your mother would be proud of you too Steven, so, so much."

"Thanks Pearl." Steven replied, reaching the pale gem and giving her a hug.

"I'm sorry I interrupted you while you were trying to cure that gem, if it wasn't for me…"

"I know, don't worry, you were only trying to protect me, I can't be mad at you for that." Steven said as he let go.

After that, Garnet decided to go to her room but when Pearl shot her one last apologetic look, the fusion seemed to hesitate. They needed to talk, both of them knew that, but she felt like she wasn't ready. She needed time to think. The temple's door closed behind her, and Garnet disappeared into her room. Amethyst did the same, although, after so much tension she felt like she didn't need to think, but to take a nap. Pearl preferred to go to the beach. Steven watched her sit down on the sand and stare at the sea. He considered the idea of joining her, but something told him she needed some alone time. Peridot, still stunned by the new revelations, retired to the bathroom and Steven… Steven sat on the couch, wondering what to do next. He knew he could cure corruption, but who could he cure first? The monster Pearl just poofed? Centi and her crew? Or maybe…

'Oh gosh…'

He knew from the very moment he thought about it that it wasn't going to be easy, especially convincing the gems to let him do it, but still, he felt like he had to. Yes… all that rage, all that hate, she lived most of her life chasing an enemy that didn't really exist. It wasn't right, it wasn't right for her to live like that. Even someone like her deserved a second chance, a new life, a new purpose. Among all of the gems who got corrupted, Steven felt she was the one who deserved the most to know the truth. So he waited for the gems to come back, to tell them about what he thought about, who he thought about. It wasn't going to be easy, but still, he would to try.

He was going to do it.

He was going to bring her back.

He was going to cure her and tell her the truth.

The truth about her Diamond, and who she really was.

 **I bet you know who I'm talking about, don't you? So, here we are with the third chapter! I had a lot in mind for this chapter, but it was becoming a little too long, so I preferred to stop here and write the rest in the next one. Are you happy? Of course not! Just kidding… well I don't really know but hey! You got the song! I hope you liked it and yes, yes I know. "Snacks" and "Back"? Really? Cool rhyme idiot. Well I though so too but then I remembered Steven's full song about the Crystal gems, about how they would win the fight and go out for pizzas, and I thought, he's such an adorable goof ball, so why not you know? So, I hoped you liked this chapter, the story so far, I want to thank you for all the appreciation you're giving me through your comments (You're so kind guys) and all the favs and follows, they're like, really, really important to me. Thank you guys, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. See you in the next chapter, bye bye!**


	4. Chapter 4: Telling a friend

**CHAPTER IV: TELLING A FRIEND**

"Do we need anything else?" Lars whispered, looking around to spot any possible threat.

"No, I think we got all the parts we need." The Twins of Rutile answered.

"Good. Let's get back to the ship before anyone notice."

"I still think this was a terrible idea, this is one of Yellow Diamond's asteroid mines, it's already a miracle that we managed to get inside this hangar without being noticed!" Rhodonite muttered keeping her eyes glued on the front door of the building.

After Steven's last visit, Lars and the Off Colors managed to land unnoticed on one of Yellow Diamond's asteroid mines. While Lars, Padparadscha, Rhodonite and the Twins decided to search for the parts they needed, Flourite decided to stay on board, fearing that her size would have made the group much more noticeable. While the security was high, thanks to Lars not being a gem, they managed to get past most of the scanners easily. The last thing they had to do was to find the pieces they needed to finally repair the Sun Incinerator's nova thrusters. Fortunately, they managed to get inside a hangar through the back door, which had been left unguarded. Lars slipped past the gem scanner and deactivated it as soon as he got inside the building. There weren't as many ships as they thought, just some private shuttles and patrol ships, but they'd do. At least, they hoped so. As quietly as they could, they managed to dismantle all the parts they needed.

"Captain Lars?" Padparadscha quietly whispered.

"Not now Padparadscha, we need to make sure no one notice us, we have to be silent. Are we absolutely sure we have everything?" Lars asked one last time.

"I think so…" Rhodonite said, double checking the pieces they retrieved.

"Yes, these are all the pieces we need." The Twins added securely.

"Captain Lars?" Padparadscha repeated.

"Padparadscha you know how much I regard your opinion, but we really have to go now, or we could be discovered." Lars murmured.

"I predict a Peridot who's been checking on one of the shuttles will discover us."

The entire group went pale. They all turned around to notice the green gem staring at them with wide eyes from behind the glass of the private shuttle on the other side of the hangar. Moments passed as neither the group nor the peridot moved a muscle, then, suddenly, the engineer got of the shuttle and sprinted towards the main entrance.

"We have to block her!" Lars yelled.

But it was too late. The green gem managed to get to the door first, pressing a button and opening it. The quartz soldiers on the outside immediately turned around, noticing the terrified look on the peridot's face and the group of clearly unauthorized gems standing behind her.

"Give the alarm." One of the quartzes growled before summoning her weapon and running towards the trespassers.

"What do we do?!" Rhodonite cried as the quartz got nearer and nearer.

"Run!" Lars yelled, picking up Padparadscha, turning around and rushing towards the back door of the hangar.

As they ran out, the sound of the alarm sirens could be heard coming from everywhere around them. Lars turned his head only to see that now the quartz soldiers had become ten.

"Captain! We can't outrun them!" Rhodonite yelled as the group of quartzes began to gain terrain.

"Come on, come on hurry up!" Lars said under his breath.

Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, the Sun Incinerator made its appearance. The spaceship flew over them and turned around, opening fire and poofing instantly all of its captain's chasers. After the smoke cleared, it landed near the almost out of breath crew.

"Fluorite… at… your… service… Captain… Lars…" Fluorite spoke slowly as the door panel slid open.

"Thank the stars you've arrived, I don't know for how much longer-" Lars tried to thank the fusion but was suddenly interrupted.

"What took you so long?!" Rhodonite yelled, clutching securely both of her gems.

"I… came… as… fast… as…" Fluorite started to explain but Lars intervened.

"Thanks Fluorite, we know you did your best." Lars said, smiling at the fusion as he jumped on the spaceship, before putting Padparadscha gently on the ground. "Now let's get out of here!"

"Maybe that's not such a good idea." The Rutile Twins spoke timidly.

"Why is that?" Lars asked.

"All of the mine's security guards must be on high alert. If we leave now, without the nova thrusters, they'll catch us immediately."

"But we can't make the repairs here! They'll find us sooner or later!"

"Probably more sooner than later." Rhodonite muttered.

Lars began to slightly panic. They couldn't leave but neither they could stay. What were they going to do? What was he supposed to do?

"I… don't… think… so…" Fluorite chimed in.

"What?" The small group turned towards Fluorite, who was grinning, seemingly satisfied with herself.

"Let… me… show… you… what… I… found…" The fusion said as she descended the ladder to the lower floor.

"Ehm… Captain Lars? A patrol of robonoids is approaching our position…" The Rutile Twins looked at the ship's radar, noticing the approaching and probably not very friendly group of drones.

"Fluorite? This would be a very good moment to show us what you discovered!" Lars yelled as he kept his eyes on the radar, in a matter of seconds, they would have been discovered.

"F-Fluorite!" Rhodonite cried.

"They're going to discover us! We have to move!" The Rutile Twins were going to start the ship when Fluorite's voice came from the lower floor.

"Done… and… done…" Fluorite said.

"Done what?! Nothing happened!" Rhodonite yelled in panic.

"Look… at… the… robonoids…"

The small group looked outside, seeing the drones approach. But when they reached them, the drones simply flew over them, ignoring the Sun Incinerator completely.

"How… how is that possible?" The Twins wondered aloud.

"Stealth… mode… activated…" Fluorite emerged from downstairs, proudly smiling at her companions.

"That's amazing Fluorite!" Lars exclaimed, realizing that the ship was now completely invisible.

"But… it won't… last… for… long… the system… got… damaged… during… Emerald's… last… attack…"

The group's enthusiasm dropped down, even if they were safe for now, according to Fluorite the stealth mode wouldn't last forever.

"So we're going to be shattered anyway!" Rhodonite cried, waving her arms in the air.

"No, we're not. We're going to repair the nova thrusters right here!" Lars said, dramatically closing his fist in the air.

"D-do you think we'll manage?" Rhodonite asked, her tone of voice a little more hopeful than before.

"I know we can do it!" Lars answered.

"I predict that the robonoids won't notice us." Padparadscha spoke, making Lars snicker as he patted her head.

"Thank you Pad, now let's go, there's not even one second to lose!" Lars pointed at the stairs for the core's room.

 **Meanwhile, on Earth:**

"Steven?" Connie called as she entered the boy's house.

Steven had called her one hour ago, asking if she could come over. He said he had something very important to tell her and some other thing he wanted to discuss with her. What made Connie put aside her homework and even decide to skip tennis practice had been Steven's tone of voice. Sad, confused, lost. She never heard him talk like that and she immediately accepted. She had to convince her mom but once Priyanka saw the worried look in her daughter's eyes she couldn't say no. She knew how much Steven was important to her and remembered her promise to pull back with the rules.

"Hey Connie…" Steven said, trying to smile at her.

Connie quickly reached him and sat beside him on the couch.

"Steven? What's wrong?" Connie asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Steven remained silent for some moments. His family now knew the truth about who his mom really was, except for his dad and he knew that sooner or later he would have had to tell him. Then there was Connie, his best friend, and he knew he had to tell her too, but it scared him. How would Connie react? Would the truth change things between them? But he couldn't not tell her, she had to know, even if it meant for things to change. Steven exhaled a long breath, then, he talked.

"Connie… do you remember the dream we had on the alien moon? When we were fused?" Steven asked, raising her gaze to meet Connie's eyes.

"Yes… what about it?"

"I know why we had it, why we saw through… Pink Diamond's eyes…"

"Really?" Connie felt now both nervous and curious.

"Recently I had another dream… I saw the Diamonds talking. Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond were telling Pink Diamond that she had to act like the leader she was, and not to worry about the Crystal Gems' rebellion. They told her that soon it would all be over, then they left and then…" Steven hesitated.

"And then?" Connie asked, holding her breath.

"Then I saw Pearl… she crept behind Pink Diamond and pulled out my mom's sword…"

"Oh… oh no… Steven, did she…?" Connie's hands immediately covered Steven's, holding them securely.

"No… no she didn't shatter Pink Diamond…" Steven replied, seeing Connie give a slight sigh of relief.

But Steven didn't continue, he remained silent, until he felt Connie's grasp on his hands tighten.

"Steven, you can tell me. You know you can trust me, aren't we best buds?" Connie's smile was enough to convince him.

"Pink Diamond wasn't shattered."

"What?!" Connie was now more confused than ever.

"My mom couldn't have shattered her, nor could have Pearl. They were both known war criminals when Pink Diamond was shattered, they couldn't have reached her, not when she was always surrounded by her guards."

"Then… how did… what happened?"

"They didn't have to reach her… they were already there Connie…" Steven lowered his gaze.

"Steven, I don't… I don't understand…" Connie muttered.

"My mom was already there, and so was Pearl. They were inside her palanquin shortly before it happened… because…"

And then Connie realized. Her eyes went wide, her mouth agape.

"Your mom… your mom was…" Connie stammered.

"My mom was Pink Diamond Connie, and Pearl… she was her pearl. They orchestrated the all thing. Maybe mom didn't want to face her sisters directly, I don't know, but they realized that as long as Pink Diamond lived, the rebellion would have never won and the Earth would have never been safe." Steven explained.

"She… faked her own death and assumed the identity of Rose Quartz… permanently…"

Steven simply nodded.

"But how did you find out?" Connie asked timidly.

"Pearl showed me, through her gem. She couldn't tell me, mom told her not to tell anyone, because she never wanted to look back. She was so sad Connie, she told she wanted to tell me for so long… but…"

"But she couldn't." Connie realized.

And then, both of them became silent. Steven felt like he shouldn't have told her. Maybe it had been to much, maybe now she felt like she didn't know him anymore, maybe-

Steven's fears and doubts were immediately shattered as he felt a pair of arms around his neck, holding him close. The young boy did the same, he needed that. He definitely needed that.

"Thank you for telling me. I know it must have been… hard." Connie murmured.

"Yeah… I thought it would make you feel uncomfortable around me." Steven admitted.

"Well… next time we see each other… should I bow to you?"

Both Steven and Connie burst out laughing, and the tension was gone.

"Oh no please, don't do that." Steven said, catching his breath.

Some moments passed, then, Connie remembered.

"Wait, there was something else you had to tell me right?"

"Oh… yes… it's a strange idea. Okay it's a dangerous idea but I think that it's the right thing to do." Steven said.

"Okay… tell me."

"Okay so… like, two hours ago I learned that I can cure corrupted gems." Steven said.

"Steven that's-" Connie was going to congratulate with him when suddenly she understood what he had in mind. "Steven… if what you want to do is what I'm thinking about, that's going to be really dangerous."

"I know… but I think she deserves the most to know the truth…" Steven spoke holding his gem.

"But what about all the bad things she did to you? To the gems? What about all the horrible things she said to Amethyst? Jasper isn't a nice person." Connie asked, a worried expression on her face.

"I think she was just really angry about what she thought the Crystal Gems had done to her Diamond. She created her, so she was basically… her mom…" Steven never thought about it this way.

"Well… if you put it that way… but she was still cruel."

"I know, but I want to give her another chance, knowing the truth, she might change idea Connie! She might want to stay here, and to help us!" Steven said hopefully.

"Maybe you're right… I hope you're right." Connie smiled at him, she wasn't totally convinced, but she was going to help him, everyone deserved a second chance.

"Now we just have to wait for-" Steven tried to speak but was interrupted by the sound of the temple's door opening.

Steven and Connie turned around to see Garnet appear from the temple. She was hugging herself, as to hold herself together.

"Garnet… are you alright?" Steven asked, glancing worryingly at the fusion.

"I need to talk to Pearl." Garnet replied.

He had to talk with the gems, to tell them about what he wanted to do. To tell them about Jasper. But he saw that now the most important thing was for Garnet and Pearl to sort things out. Then, he would tell them. He just hoped they would understand. If they didn't… well… he wasn't going to let go of his idea that easily.

 **Wooooo, longer chapter! But absolutely nothing happened! Yeyyyy! I'm planning for Steven's talk with the gems to happen in the next chapter, and maybe even to show our favorite Homeworld's captain appearance. I hope you liked my story so far, and I hope you'll enjoy what I have in mind. It won't be a very long story, because there aren't as many things left to explain or to tell, still, I hope I'll manage to write at least ten chapters. As always, thanks for all the kind comments, follows and favs, you're great guys. Yes, Jasper will appear very shortly, I promise. See you in the next chapter! Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5: Bad Idea

**CHAPTER V: BAD IDEA**

"Mind if I join you?" Garnet asked, reaching Pearl's side on the beach.

"O-oh! Garnet! No, no of course not! P-please…" Pearl answered, surprised to see her so soon.

When Garnet saw the pale gem quickly wipe her cheeks she felt a pang of guilt in her chest. She would have told a lie if she said she wasn't sorry for the way she talked to Pearl. Of course, she was angry, and she felt like she had the right to be angry. When Ruby and Sapphire were confused the most about the nature of what they found together, of what they managed to create together, they turned to Rose. They asked her for guidance, and it was because of her that they understood that what they had together wasn't something disgusting, like the gems of Blue Diamond's court had called them, but it was something beautiful. Their union, their fusion, their "Garnet", it was something that Homeworld would have never understood. That kind of love, it was something Homeworld would have never had.

 _"_ _Who cares how I feel? How you feel is bound to be much more interesting."_

Garnet remembered those words. Rose's words. That day, when she fell into her sanctuary, when she met for the first time the fearless leader of the Crystal Gems' rebellion and her terrifying, renegade Pearl, Garnet knew she had found her guide. She followed her, and eventually understood that the only place that could have given her the freedom to be herself, the only place where Ruby and Sapphire could have loved each other… was the Earth. And so, Rose Quartz gained a new ally. A fusion born of love, that would have fought at her side till the end of the war, or herself. But now… Rose Quartz didn't exist anymore. There was only Pink Diamond. Pink Diamond, that choose the Earth to be her first colony. Pink Diamond, that chose not to face her sisters directly, and to create an enemy that didn't exist. How many gems could have been spared if she decided to fight for her planet without hiding herself? If she had stayed herself, all of her gems would have fought to protect the Earth. Instead, she became someone else, someone that only a few gems decided to follow, while many, so many others, decided to fight. If only they knew the truth… But what hurt Garnet the most, was that Rose Quartz, the one who taught her to be herself, one of her closest friends, didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth.

"I'm sorry Pearl…" Garnet finally spoke.

"About what?" Pearl asked, confused.

"The way I talked to you, it wasn't your fault, it was never your fault. I was… I still am angry. I feel angry, sad, betrayed. But it wasn't your fault. It was hers…"

"Oh Garnet, please-" Pearl was abruptly interrupted.

"Why couldn't she tell us? Why couldn't she tell her gems?!" Garnet cried, "So many of them fought for someone whose only desire was the same of her enemy! They… they didn't care about other gems' life, they weren't Crystal Gems. So many of us were shattered Pearl, if only she told them, they would have fought alongside us…"

"She-" Pearl tried to speak, but her hands immediately flew to her mouth, forcing her to remain silent.

Garnet fell silent too, an expression of remorse on her face.

"I know you can't give me all the answers I'm looking for Pearl… I just wanted you to know that this… this hurts but it won't change anything between us, I still trust you and so does Amethyst and Steven. We love you… please don't ever doubt that." Garnet said, taking Pearl's hand and holding it securely.

Pearl slightly sniffed, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She was so scared about Garnet, Amethyst and especially Steven being angry at her. She thought that after the truth was revealed, they would have hated her. But now she realized how foolish she was to think something like that. Pearl held Garnet's hands and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"I can't tell you much Garnet, and I'm so, so sorry about that. But I can tell you that Rose loved this planet, she really did, and… and she really did love you. She loved all of us. She loved me, she loved Ruby and Sapphire, she loved you, she loved Amethyst, the Crystal Gems, Greg but most of all… she really did love Steven. Nothing will ever change that." Pearl gave her a teary smile and Garnet did the same.

"The sunset is beautiful… she loved that too." Garnet said, wiping a tear under her visor.

"She did… she really did."

The two of them remained silent, Pearl slightly propped on Garnet's shoulder, the fusion's arm around her. They needed that, and they stayed there, looking at the sunset, remembering that they fought for that to continue to exist, that the sunset and many, countless other Earth's beauties wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for them, if it wasn't for Rose. That made them feel better. After a while, they decided it was time to let the others know that they were alright. They walked up the stairs and opened the house's door. They were surprised to see Steven and Connie on the couch, looking at each other and then at them worryingly. Amethyst sat beside them.

"Are you two okay?" Steven asked hesitantly.

"Yes… yes we are." Pearl answered, Garnet nodded, trying to give Steven a reassuring smile, but his and Connie's worried glances made her stop.

"What's wrong Steven?" Garnet asked.

"I… I need to talk to you about something. Something I've been thinking about." Steven said, fumbling nervously with his hands.

"Alright." Garnet replied calmly.

Steven stood up, and so did Connie, leaving space for Garnet and Pearl, who sat on the couch beside Amethyst.

"So, I called Amethyst and you here because of what we discovered at the Strawberry battlefield." Steven declared.

"Your power to cure corruption?" Pearl asked.

"Yes… exactly…" Steven answered slowly.

"Go on Steven." Garnet encouraged him, trying to understand what was making the young boy so nervous.

"I think I want to use it to try to cure a gem."

"Oh… well, of course! If it worked we could bring back everyone, isn't it?" Pearl said enthusiastically.

"Yeah Ste-man, wanna try with your old friend Centi? Bet she'd be happy to see you." Amethyst suggested.

"It wouldn't be hard, she must still be inside that old spaceship and I think she might still remember you." Garnet thought aloud.

"I don't want to use it on Centi. I mean, of course I want, but I want to try with someone else first." Steven said glancing at Connie, who gave him a reassuring smile.

"Steven may be right, that Nephrite was one of Homeworld fleets' captains, it might be risky. We should try with a Crystal gem first." Pearl reasoned.

"No!" Steven exclaimed.

"Steven? What's wrong?" Pearl asked, giving him a worried glance.

"I want to try…" Steven stopped himself, but then, as he felt Connie's hand holding his own, he took a deep breath and decided to talk. "I want to try with Jasper."

The room became suddenly silent. All of the gems had shocked expressions on their faces. After some moments, Amethyst talked.

"WHAT?! Are you crazy?!"

"Absolutely not!" Pearl exclaimed.

"Steven, Jasper is a dangerous enemy. She imprisoned us, she was going to take us to Homeworld. She hurt Lapis, she almost managed to shatter Amethyst! Why would you ever want to help her?" Garnet asked, baffled by what Steven had just asked.

"Because she spent her whole life trying to avenge Pink Diamond! She wanted to find Rose Quartz and make her pay for what she did to her Diamond, but her Diamond isn't gone, she's right here!" Steven said, holding up his shirt and showing his gem, "Because of what mom did, she lived a life full of hatred and sadness, it's not right! Okay, she acted like a real jerk-"

"Yeah, no kidding." Amethyst grumbled, crossing her arms.

"But don't you think she still deserves to know the truth?"

Pearl looked worryingly at Garnet, she knew that this kind of speeches always managed to make the fusion change idea. Steven was kind, forgiving, much more than any of them, and she knew that every time they said no to him, he managed to show them that they were wrong. But this time, he was talking about Jasper. To Pearl's eyes, she was nothing more than a brute. A monster that only wanted to hurt her baby. That's why she would have never wanted her to be free.

"No."

Everyone was shocked to hear Garnet's answer.

"B-but-" Steven tried to speak.

"I said no!" Garnet yelled, standing up, making Steven emit a little yelp and take a step back.

"Garnet…" Pearl whispered, puzzled by her outburst. It was rare of Garnet to yell at Steven, and while the idea of freeing Jasper didn't appeal her, she couldn't understand why she would react that way.

"This discussion ends here." Garnet declared, and no one dared to say the contrary.

She was going to enter the temple when suddenly…

Lion's mane lit up…

And someone fell out of it.

 **And here we are with the fifth chapter! I wonder who's going to guess who's the mysterious person that fell out of Lion's mane… Well, you'll discover soon anyway! I came up with some other ideas for this fan fiction so maybe, just maybe, it'll be a little longer than ten chapters, but just maybe. So, thank you all for reading this chapter, I really hope you liked it. Tell me what you think of the story so far in the comments, I really, really enjoy reading your opinions. If you have any advice be free to write it down in the comments. Also, obviously, thank you for all the favs and follows, you're so manyyyyy! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. See you in the next chapter! Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6: O Captain! My Captain!

**CHAPTER VI: O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!**

"No."

Everyone was shocked to hear Garnet's answer, usually, Steven's talks always managed to convince her.

"B-but-" Steven tried to speak.

"I said no!" Garnet yelled, standing up, making Steven emit a little yelp and take a step back.

"Garnet…" Pearl whispered, puzzled by her outburst. It was rare of Garnet to yell at Steven, and while the idea of freeing Jasper didn't appeal her, she couldn't understand why she would react that way.

"This discussion ends here." Garnet declared, and no one dared to say the contrary.

She was going to enter the temple when suddenly…

Lion's mane lit up…

And someone fell out of it.

Pearl and Amethyst immediately summoned their weapons as they saw the stranger make its appearance. It only took a moment for Steven to realize who it was.

"Oh my gosh! Rhodonite!" Steven exclaimed as he immediately rushed to her side, helping her stand up.

"Stand down gems, she's not a threat." Garnet said, motioning Pearl and Amethyst to lower their weapons.

"Who's she?" Pearl asked as her spear vanished into thin air.

"She's one of Lars' friends!" Steven explain excitedly.

"Oh yeah… how's donut boy doin' in space?" Amethyst asked.

"Captain Lars is in danger!" Rhodonite cried, waving her arms in the air.

"W-what?! What happened?!" Steven's cheerful tone was gone, replaced by one of deep worry.

"We were fixing the nova thrusters, we were going to leave! B-but then Emerald appeared a-and… oh stars she's going to… Captain Lar, Rutile, Fluorite, Paddy! They're all in danger! We have to do something! We have to-" Rhodonite muttered frantically, but she calmed down as she felt Garnet's hands on her shoulders, her grasp firm but gentle.

"Calm down Rhodonite. Tell us everything, so that we can help you." Garnet said calmly.

Rhodonite breathed deeply, then started again.

On Yellow Diamond's asteroid mine, some moments before:

"This piece should go here and… done!" Lars said, helping his crew replace the last piece of the damaged engine's circuits.

"Captain… should… I… try… to…" Fluorite began to ask but was interrupted.

"Yes! Let's check on the nova thrusters and see if they're back online!" Lars spoke excitedly.

Both the Rutile Twins and Fluorite began to check the multiple holo screens on the core's main console.

"Rhodonite? Everything clear up there?" Lars called the fusion, who had remained upstairs to check for any eventual approaching threat.

"There are still some patrol ships passing by but the worst seems to have passed…" Rhodonite replied, her voice trembling but still slightly hopeful.

"Good. Twins? Fluorite?"

Fluorite and the Twins of Rutile turned around, both of them smiling excitedly.

"The nova thrusters are back online!" The Twins announced.

"Then let's get back to the flight deck!" Lars exclaimed, pointing at the stairs.

"The nova thrusters are back online!" Padparadscha announced enthusiastically.

"We know Paddy, but thanks anyway." Lars said as he, Padparadscha and the Twins of Rutile returned to the flight deck, while Fluorite, being the engine chief, remained downstairs to check for any possible malfunction.

Lars waited for Padparadscha and the Twins to return to their positions beside Rhodonite, before pointing dramatically towards the sky.

"Twins? Let's leave this stupid space mine once and for all!"

"Right away Captain!"

As soon as the Sun Incinerator's engine was activated, and Fluorite began to deviate its energy to charge the nova thrusters, the spaceship became visible again. It took only a few moments for the patrol ships and the detecting robonoids to notice the presence of the unauthorized ship, but when all of them reached the site of its energy signatur, it was already too late. The Sun Incinerator was already up high in the sky and in a matter of seconds it would have been able to travel at hyperspeed. Both Lars and his crew cheered loudly. That day they risked more than in any other time in their entire lives, but they still managed to repair the nova thrusters, to escape Yellow Diamond's asteroid mine, and to survive. They won. They, the Off Colors, nothing more than flawed beings for the Diamond Authority, but truthfully so, so much more than that. And that day they proved it. They watched as the stars became more and more visible… then…

Then it all came to a stop.

"What's happening?!" Lars asked, as the ship abruptly stopped moving and became surrounded by a strange, greenish light.

"I don't know Captain! There seems to be no malfunctions but… the ship is completely still… I can't get it to move!" The Twins checked their holo screens, frantically searching for a solution to their problem.

"Fluorite?! Is the engine damaged?!"

"No… Captain… the… engine… is… still… intact…" Fluorite said, emerging from downstairs-

"Then I don't-" Lars spoke but was interrupted as he and his crew heard a familiar laugh.

They all raised their gazes only to be greeted by a very familiar face. The Homeworld's captain they hoped never to meet again appeared on the main screen of the ship, arms crossed and a bemused smile on her face.

"Emerald." Lars hissed through gritted teeth.

"Captain Lars, what a surprise finding you here. Do you like my new ship? The Diamonds gave it to me personally." Emerald declared proudly.

"How can you keep us from maneuvering the ship?!"

"Do you like it? Zero point energy, one of Homeworld latest discoveries and best technology. I'm using it right now to accomplish the mission the Diamonds gave me to redeem myself after our last… encounter…" Emerald explained, her tone becoming more insecure during the last part.

"You mean when we kicked your butt?" Lars asked smugly.

"Silence! I will not permit someone of your lowly kind to talk to me that way!" Emerald yelled angrily, already losing her temper.

"Yeah… sure… but we still kinda did it."

"Ugh! You… you little…" Emerald looked as she was going to explode, she breathed deeply, then she started talking again, "You may have won our latest battle, but this time you won't escape, I will do what the Diamonds ordered and finally redeem myself."

"What did they ask you to do?" Lars asked.

"You know, I'll admit, you really managed to fool me for a moment. I don't know where she is but you really hid her well."

"What is she talking about Captain?" The Twins wondered.

"I have no idea." Lars answered, confused.

"Do not play dumb with me, off color scum! I know Rose Quartz is hiding on my precious Sun Incinerator!" Emerald cried.

"What?!" Rhodonite yelled in disbelief.

"She's talking about Steven." Lars finally understood.

"Steven? Your half gem half human friend? What does he have to do with Rose Quartz?"

"His gem is kinda hers." Lars explained, trying to make it as simple as he could.

"What?! B-but how?!" Rhodonite asked, puzzled by the revelation.

"Is Steven's gem half… Rose Quartz?" The Rutile Twins asked, equally surprised.

"It's a long story, I'll explain later."

"There's no later for you, filthy criminals." Emerald spoke, interrupting the group.

"What are you planning to do Emerald?" Lars couldn't understand what the Homeworld's captain had in mind, what was she planning? Besides stopping them in the middle of their escape, of course.

"I'm executing the orders the Diamonds gave me. As much as I'd like to blow you into nothingness, they told me to find you and to restrain you and now… they're on their way here." Emerald smiled wickedly as she saw terror appear on the Off Colors' faces.

"T-the Diamonds a-are coming?" Rhodonite muttered, her voice slightly more audible than a whisper.

"We have to go! We have to run! They'll shatter us!" The Twins stood up from their position, starting to panic.

"Emerald! Rose Quartz isn't here! She left without us!" Lars tried to convince the Homeworld's captain.

"And after all the tricks and lies to get where you're now, I should believe you? Besides, even if she's not there, at least I'll enjoy watching the Diamonds kill you all. Goodbye Captain Lars. I'd say you were a worthy foe, but I wouldn't say the truth, would I?" Emerald said, before disappearing from the main screen.

Silence fell on the flight deck. After some moments, Fluorite emerged from downstairs.

"Captain… Lars… what… can… we… do?" Fluorite asked.

Alongside the massive fusion, every other member of Lars' crew turned to him, confused, sad, terrified. They were looking up to him, they were waiting for some order or brilliant idea that would save them all, but the truth was that… Lars was as scared as any of them. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he couldn't think.

It was in that moment that Steven's words came to his mind.

 _"_ _It's okay to be scared."_

And indeed, it was okay, and that made Lars snap out of it, and make his next decision.

"Get through my hair."

 **Hello guys! I'm back! Okay, first of all I want to tell you that I'm really sorry about leaving you with a cliffhanger and not posting for so long. I really wanted to give you the next chapter, but I forgot to tell you that I had a "Psychology of groups' dynamics" exam coming, so I had very little time to spend on writing. However, as soon as I finished the exam, I went back on writing, and I wrote and wrote and wrote and I kept writing until I realized that in a single chapter I wrote more than four thousand words. So here is what I decided to do. I broke the chapter into three parts, and today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow I'll post each and every one of them, one a day. So stay tuned because two more chapters are coming really really soon. Wow, I didn't think you'd become so many and that is also part of why I want to apologize again for having kept all of you waiting. Thanks for all the kind comments, the favs and follows, they're very important to me and I won't ever stop repeating that. See you in the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7: Asking for help

**_CHAPTER VII: ASKING FOR HELP_**

 _"_ _It's okay to be scared."_

And indeed, it was okay, and that made Lars snap out of it, and make his next decision.

"Get through my hair." Lars said.

"What?!" His crew exclaimed in disbelief.

"You heard what Emerald said, soon the Diamonds will be here and I won't let them catch you. You have to go, on Earth you'll be safe and you'll have the time to think about a plan to stop them."

Fluorite, Rhodonite, the Twins and Padparadscha looked at each other for a moment. It would have been the most rational thing to do, why stay and be destroyed when their own captain was offering them a chance to leave and be safe?

"We won't do it."

That is why. Because Lars had taken so many risks on their behalf, because together they had accomplished so much. They stole a high decorated Homeworld captain's ship, they managed to escape from the planet that held them prisoners for thousands of years and now… now freedom was closer than ever. But they would have reached it together, all of them, without leaving anyone behind. That was the difference between them and the ones who were holding them back.

"But-" Lars tried to speak but Rhodonite chimed in.

"You won't convince us Captain. It's true, we're scared, I mean… I'm probably the most scared gem in the entire universe in this moment… b-but! But we won't leave you, just like you never left us. There has to be a way to solve this! Come on Captain, think!"

"We know you can make a plan to get us out of here!" The Rutile Twins encouraged him.

"We trust you Captain Lars." Padparadscha said hopefully.

"You… can… do… this… we… can… do… this!" Fluorite cheered.

Lars fell silent, a smile on his face as he wiped his cheeks. His crew was the best.

"Guys… I think I have a plan, but we'll need help…"

"Help? But we're the only ones here!" Rhodonite looked around, trying to figure out what her Captain was planning to do.

"Yes, we're the only ones here, but not here…" Lars pointed at his hair. "Rhodonite, I need you to go warn someone about our little problem…"

On Earth, some moments after:

"That's why I'm here! Captain Lars need your help, and so do the Twins, Fluorite and Padparadscha! If we don't do anything, the Diamonds will shatter them!" Rhodonite explained, holding her breath as she saw Garnet assuming a thinking expression.

"We can't let them get caught, the Diamonds won't show them any mercy, we know that." Garnet concluded.

"Alright! Let's kick some Homeworld butts!" Amethyst incited.

"Yeah! We'll save everyone!" Steven said, stepping towards Lion's mane alongside Connie.

"Not you two." Garnet declared as she stepped in front of the two younglings.

"What?! B-but Garnet, Lars is our friend!" Steven tried to convince her.

"If the Diamonds are coming, I don't want you to be there. If there's even a single chance of them catching you, and trust me there is, then I want you to have nothing to do with this, and I think I'm talking for Pearl and Amethyst too."

"Garnet is right Steven, don't worry about us, we'll save them and come back in no time." Pearl tried to reassure the young boy, who seemed still deeply conflicted about the plan.

"No worries Ste-vo, we're more than enough to help donut boy." Amethyst said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Alright gems, let's move." Garnet said, stepping inside Lion's mane alongside Pearl, Amethyst and Rhodonite.

And all of the sudden, Steven and Connie were left alone in the living room. Both of them didn't like the idea to stay here and do nothing while the gems risked their lives helping Lars, but they didn't feel like questioning Garnet anymore after her latest outburst.

"What do we do?" Connie asked.

"I know what we can do." Steven replied, assuming a determined expression.

"Oh no, Steven don't tell me you're thinking about what I'm thinking." Connie spoke in a worried tone of voice.

"I know it's the right thing to do, the gems are always scared of my ideas but only because they fear something bad might happen to me, but I have a good feeling about this!" Steven explained.

"Steven…" Connie exhaled, rubbing her temples.

She made the error to look at Steven while he performed the most adorable puppy face ever done, and that was enough to convince her.

"Oh alright…" Connie groaned.

"Yes!" Steven exclaimed happily.

"But if something goes wrong…" Connie muttered, putting a hand on the hilt of Rose's sword.

"Yes, right, but we still need help." Steven said.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When Jasper will reform, she won't be happy to see me, and if I manage to cure her, she'll be even less happy. We need to restrain her, and after I cure her, some kind of place where we can keep her until she calms down and she's ready to listen."

"Some kind of… cell…" Connie wondered out loud.

"The only kind of cell that can hold back a gem is the kind Peridot had on her old ship… when we cleaned up all the debris I think Amethyst conserved some of it in her room."

"But, surely it won't work, it'll need repairs. Who could do it?" Connie asked, before both her and Steven realized that they had the perfect gem for that kind of job.

"Peridot!" They both called her.

When she didn't answer, they walked up to the bathroom's door, knocking twice before waiting for the small, green gem to open. When she did, and her gaze fell on Steven, Peridot released a little yelp before immediately standing up straight, her arms bent into a diamond salute.

"Oh no, please Peridot, that's the last thing I need now." Steven said, not unkindly, gently placing his hands on Peridot's wrists to untangle her arms.

"I'm… I'm sorry… it just… it came automatic…" Peridot raised her eyes, meeting Steven's. Not that Peridot has ever been disrespectful towards Steven… well maybe sometimes… but now, the young boy noticed there was a different kind of respect in her eyes. It almost looked like… fear. He didn't like it much.

"Peridot look at me. It's me, Steven. It doesn't matter who my mom was, if she was a quartz or a diamond, I'm still me, nothing has changed." Steven explained.

"I know you're still you but… I mean… half of you is a Diamond! How was that expression… damn it… oh yes… that's a big deal! You're practically one of Homeworld's matriarchs! Well… patriarch since here on Earth gender seems to be a thing, b-but still!" Peridot began to ramble excitedly.

"Okay Peridot, calm down, we're… we're really not here to talk about this." Steven placed both of his hands on the small gem's shoulders, trying to make her calm down.

"O-oh… then what did you want?" Peridot asked confusedly, if not to obtain informations about his true nature from her vast knowledge of Homeworld and its matriarchs, what could he could he want?

"If we manage to retrieve some pieces of your old ship, do you think you could build a cell? Like the ones you put Steven and the gems in when you first came on Earth." Connie said.

"Okay, first of all I already apologized for that, it was very rude of me, I still was subjected to Homeworld's dogmas and didn't really understand what this planet could give to me. Second of all, of course I could built a cell, I'm one of the best engineers around, if not the best, am I not?" Peridot asked smugly.

"Of course you are." Connie answered rolling her eyes, although she was smiling.

"Yes! So, can you help us?" Steven asked in a hopeful tone.

"Of course but… why would you need a cell?" Peridot asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

"Ehm… it's… kind of a project I've been thinking about…" Steven knew he had to tell her, but he was very afraid of what Peridot would say, what if she didn't agree to help them?

"Oh, if it is a project that involves using Homeworld's technology, you've come to the right gem… but I'd still like to know more."

"You know how I discovered that I can cure corrupted gems?" Steven began, laughing nervously.

"Oh yes! That is really remarkable Steven, being able to repair damage made from the Diamonds themselves! Although with you being a Diamond it shouldn't have been such a surprise."

"I want to cure a gem, but she might be very, very angry, both before and after I cure her. We need to restrain her so that she gets to calm down before I… explain things." Steven explained.

"Oh, that's reasonable. And who would this gem be?" Peridot asked, still not figuring out the corrupted gem's identity.

Steven became silent all of the sudden. He knew they needed Peridot's help, but after all what they've been through because of Jasper, he didn't really know if she would accept. Connie noticed that Steven was struggling, so decided to help.

"It's Jasper. Steven wants to cure Jasper."

 **Here you go! The next chapter is already here! Will Peridot accept to help Steven and Connie in their plan to cure Jasper? Will the gems be able to save Lars and his crew from Emerald and the incoming wrath of the Diamonds? Who knows, it's like 2 a.m. here and I'm very tired, so good night, or good day, I don't really know, but I still care. To the next chapter and beyond! Remember, it comes out tomorrow! So stay tuned and be sure to let me know through comments if you like how the story is going! Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Plan

**CHAPTER VIII: THE PLAN**

"It's Jasper. Steven wants to cure Jasper."

That was the moment Peridot's expression changed from one of curiosity to an incredulous, terrified one.

"WHAT?! You can't be serious!" Peridot yelled in disbelief.

"I knew you'd react this way." Steven replied, downhearted.

"Wha- h-how did you want me to react?! Do you even remember all the bad things she did?! To Lapis?! To Amethyst?! She would have shattered all of us if she had the chance!"

"I know but… but…" Steven clutched the gem under his shirt.

"Oh… oh no… you think you can convince her to be on our side? Because you have Pink Diamond's gem?! She'll never believe you!"

"But I have to try! All this time Peri, she has been angry all this time because of what mom did. She lived her life only thinking about avenging her, but she's here! I know I can convince her! And… and I now I understand why she acted like that. She lost the one whom she loved the most, and felt the need to crush anyone who'd dare to stand in the way of her revenge… not all of us can be forgiving Peri, but I know I can change her… please help us."

"Steven… I…" Peridot stuttered, trying to look away.

"I know it sounds dangerous but… I think too that's the right thing to do." Connie said, giving Peridot an encouraging smile.

Peridot inhaled deeply, before shaking her head and emitting a short laugh.

"This is crazy… we are probably going to die… but… if Steven thinks it's the right thing to do, than I trust him. You gave a second chance too, am I right? Maybe Jasper deserves one herself." Peridot conclude, the confliction in her eyes vanished, replaced by a determined look.

It hadn't been hard for the trio to retrieve the needed parts. Steven took Connie and Peridot in front of the temple's door, granting them access to his room. From there, they managed to reach Amethyst's room where after some scavenging, they found some of Peridot old ship's debris. Mostly broken parts but fortunately the ones that were still intact were also the ones that Peridot needed to build an improvised containment chamber. Between the three of them, they agreed that the beach would have been the most appropriate place to cure and confine Jasper. They also realized that she would have never stayed put as Steven tried to heal her, so, after a little more searching in Amethyst's room, they managed to find some chains. Peridot would have used them to restrain Jasper while Steven tried to cure her. When they agreed that there was nothing more they could need for their plan, Peridot asked for Connie's help to assemble the cell on the beach, while Steven went to retrieve Jasper's bubble. He felt strangely alone when he entered the burning room. He would have liked Peridot and Connie to come with him, but he knew they had to hurry. The gems would have returned soon, at least he hoped so. It didn't take much to find Jasper's gem, and when Steven finally put his hands around the purplish bubble, he finally felt scared. Of course, he knew it was the right thing to do, he was there because of that, but still, only now he realized that if something went wrong, the situation could get very, very dangerous, not only for him, but for Connie and Peridot as well. But there was no turning back now. He took a deep breath then, clutching the bubble, he left the burning room. When Steven reached the beach, he saw Peridot press a button on a rough assemble of green, metal parts. It immediately lit up, and a wall of yellowish light separated her from the inside of the small cage. They were ready.

"If something goes wrong, I want you to run away, okay?" Steven said.

"We're not going anywhere." Connie replied.

Peridot nodded, closing her eyes and concentrating. The metal chains scattered on the beach began to rise from the ground, ready to trap Jasper as soon as she'd emerge from her gem.

"We're all set!" Peridot declared proudly.

Steven hesitated for a moment. He couldn't hear Connie, he couldn't hear Peridot, he could only hear the sound of his own heart, beating faster and faster as his grip on the purple bubble became more and more intense.

Then…

It popped…

There was a bright orange light, and a bulky silhouette began to emerge from the gem. For a moment, it looked like Jasper was reforming normally, but then, between distorted shrieks and incomprehensible words, her form began to mutate. It became bigger, much bigger. She fell on all fours. Her hands became clawed, her head adorned with a pair of twisted horns and her hair grew longer, covering all of her back. Her eyes disappeared, and her teeth became long and sharp as razors. Then, the light disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a terrible monster.

"Jasper…" Steven whispered.

And Jasper heard him.

The monster turned towards the little boy, releasing a terrifying, bestial roar. Steven covered his eyes, seeing Jasper raise one her clawed hands, ready to strike. Suddenly, a metallic sound rang through the air and all of Peridot's chains tangled themselves around the enormous orange beast.

"Now Steven!" Connie cried.

"She's stronger than I thought! I don't think I'll be able to hold her for much longer!" Peridot hissed through gritted teeth, trying her best not to let Jasper move.

That's when Steven stepped closer to her. She growled and struggled hard against her restraints, but strangely, the little boy in front of her didn't run away. He placed one hand on her gem and… maybe because of her shock, or because of something else, she stopped struggling. Her breathing became more and more relaxed until Steven leaned in. Forehead against forehead, the boy closed his eyes, then…

Steven sang…

 **Meanwhile, on the Sun Incinerator:**

"Captain Lars! I found them!" Rhodonite announced as she fell out of Lars' hair.

"Good job Rhodonite! Now where-" Lars was interrupted by Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst stepping out of his hair, making him lose balance and fall to the ground.

"Oh my stars! You really came!" The Twins said, standing up, both surprised and relieved.

"We would never abandon gems who need our help." Garnet replied.

"We'll do everything we can to help." Pearl reassured them.

"Yeah, how hard can it be to get rid of some Homeworld pebbles." Amethyst shrugged, not showing the slightest sign of fear.

"They're so cool." One of the twins whispered to the other.

"Us off colors stick together, right?" Lars stood up and extended a hand towards her.

"We certainly do." Garnet smiled, shaking his hand.

"Listen, this is a very touching moment but I want to remember you that the Diamonds themselves are coming to get us, and they can't be that far away!" Rhodonite interrupted them.

"Rhodonite… is… right… we… still… have… to… figure… out… how… to… free… the… ship…" Fluorite chimed in.

"Don't worry, I have a plan." Lars now spoke without fear, a determined look in his eyes.

"Care to explain?" Pearl approached him, her arms crossed. Not that she didn't trust Lars, but when it came to humans, she never thought strategy planning was one of their strong points.

In a matter of minutes however, as Lars explained to both his crew and the Crystal Gems his plan, she had to change her mind.

"Are you ready?" Lars asked, sitting on his chair at the center of the flight deck.

Everyone nodded. The Rutile Twins, Rhodonite and Padparadscha took their seats and tried not to look nervous, Fluorite returned to the engine room while Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst made sure to remain hidden.

"Communication starting in three… two… one…" The Rutile Twins counted down as they began to establish a connection with nothing less than Emerald's imperial warship.

"Trying to convince me to spare your life Captain Lars? I knew you and your crew were pathetic, but I didn't think you were that much." Emerald smiled wickedly showing off her pointed canines.

"Oh you must be mistaken. I didn't contact you to save my life… I contacted you to save theirs." Lars pointed to each member of his crew.

"What?" Emerald's smile faded, replaced by a confused expression.

"You heard me. The Diamonds want Rose Quartz right? Isn't that why they ordered you to restrain us in the first place?"

"What are you trying to say?" Emerald asked suspiciously.

"We'll give you Rose Quartz, and in exchange you'll leave my crew alone." Lars proposed.

There was a moment of silence before Emerald burst out laughing.

"The Diamonds will take her anyway! Why should I accept and put my position at risk? There's nothing you can offer me."

"You're wrong, there's something I can offer you." Lars told her.

"And what would it be, Captain Lars?" Emerald asked in a mocking tone, knowing there was nothing the rebel scum could have ever offered her to make her change her mind.

"Me…" Lars replied.

"W-what?!" Emerald exclaimed, puzzled.

"If you'll let my crew escape, I'll hand over Rose Quartz and I'll give you the pleasure to finish me off yourself. You know the Diamonds will kill all of us, and if not them, they'll commission the work to some executioner, not a Homeworld space fleet's commander. Wouldn't it be nice to take your revenge on the one who managed to beat you so many times, yourself?" Lars showed off a challenging smile.

"You didn't! It was only luck!" Emerald yelled before taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She knew that the sorry excuse for a captain was planning something, and she wouldn't have fallen for it. "This is only a trick, and as much as I'd like to finish you with my own hands, I think I'll let the Diamonds have that pleasure."

Emerald smiled once again, thinking the conversation was over, thinking that in a matter of seconds she would have enjoyed watching the Off Colors' expressions change into terrified ones. But that didn't happen, instead, her smile vanished as she saw Lars and his crew explode into fits of laughter… and this was already a wound for the Homeworld's captain.

"What's so funny?!" Emerald hissed through gritted teeth.

"Oh nothing, we made a bet, but unfortunately we all won. We all said you'd turn out to be a coward." Lars said, trying to catch his breath.

"I'm not a coward!" Emerald screamed in anger.

"Oh, I can already imagine it. I mean, your crew must respect you as a 'captain', but I bet that the rumors will begin to spread anyway. 'Do you remember that captain? Come on, the one who was scared of facing a human being!' I can already hear all of Homeworld laughing at you!" Lars kept laughing, harder and harder alongside all of his crew.

And as they kept laughing, not showing any sign of fear, emerald's scowl grew.

"Stop laughing at me! I'm a great captain!" Emerald yelled.

But no one listened.

Untill…

"Take. Me. Down." Emerald muttered.

"B-but Captain, t-the orders-" It was a Peridot's voice, that suddenly got silenced by Emerald's saber.

"I said. Take. Me. Down." Emerald repeated, before turning towards Lars, that challenging smile still on his face. "I'll enjoy beheading you, who knows what happens to your kind when something like that happens?"

"I guess we'll find out, right?" Lars replied.

The communication ended.

 **Hi guys! Here we are with the eight chapter! It seems that Lars and Emerald are fated to do more than just chasing each other. How will their encounter end? What about Lars' plan? Did he really have one? Or maybe, just maybe, he's buying someone else a little time? Who knows, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't worry about the cliffhanger, the next chapter is pratically done, just one more scene to write and I'll publish it, so the day after tomorrow expect the ninth chapter to be uploaded and be ready to discover how this fight between captains will end and... something more. As always thanks for all the kind comments, really, the favs and follows. You are making me a better writer and for that, I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, really. Anyway, to next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9: Shaking Hands

**Guys, I know, a note at the beginning?! Why?! But hear me out, I wanted to try something new. When you'll reach this symbol "(Farewell)", try and listen to this while you're reading: watch?v=3oIz_PXu9gw**

 **If the link doesn't work, look up on youtube for the ost "A WAY OUT – Farewell"**

 **Trust me and tell me if you liked this little idea. This is just an experiment, and if you don't like it, then I'll never use this method again during the narration of my story. However, if you'll like it, let me know in the comments, because I could use it again, not much I think, but I've got an idea for the finale that you'll probably like.**

 **CHAPTER IX: SHAKING HANDS**

"Stop laughing at me! I'm a great captain!" Emerald yelled.

But no one listened.

Untill…

"Take. Me. Down." Emerald muttered.

"B-but Captain, t-the orders-" It was a Peridot's voice, that suddenly got silenced by Emerald's saber.

"I said. Take. Me. Down." Emerald repeated, before turning towards Lars, that challenging smile still on his face. "I'll enjoy beheading you, who knows what happens to your kind when something like that happens?"

"I guess we'll find out, right?" Lars replied.

The communication ended.

And the Sun Incinerator started to move.

Emerald's ship landed, bringing it to the ground. Lars and his crew looked outside and saw that there were at least a dozen patrol ships and another one of shattering robonoids around them. They were surrounded. The zero point energy field around the Sun Incinerator suddenly disappeared, and Lars knew that it was time to face Emerald.

"Okay guys, everybody sticks to the plan." Lars whispered, making his way towards the exit door panel.

"Captain Lars… a-are you sure about this?" Rhodonite's tone gave her away, she was frightened, she was worried about him, just like his all crew.

Lars looked around. He looked at every and each one of them, with the same mixture of hope and fear he saw in their eyes. They believed in him, and he believed in them. That's why they were a better crew, that's why the plan would have worked.

"Bingo Bongo." Lars winked, pointing at them, trying his best to smile.

That got a little, nervous laugh out of them. Little, but encouraging nonetheless. Lars turned around and stepped out of the ship. Emerald was already there. Boy, the communication screen made her look smaller. She was tall, taller than Lars of at least ten inches. She was thin, but her armor made her look even bigger. Her eye was wide, Lars saw madness in it. Her smile, with those pointed fangs made his skin crawl and that saber she held tightly in her right hand… man, that saber made it really hard to remain calm and collected.

"You know, I really thought this would have turned out to be another of your tricks. For once you proved you're not a coward. It's a pity this moment won't last long. Take out your weapon and at least try to die with honor." Emerald seethed.

"I don't think I'll need a weapon to take you down, I actually imagined you'd be taller." Lars crossed his arms, showing off a mocking smile.

"You know… I would have spared you the pain to know the truth, but I think that you really deserve to suffer till the end. When I'll be done with you, I'll take Rose Quartz… then I will pulverize your pathetic crew, I'll make someone clean the flight deck from their shards and take back my ship. Does this make you smile?" Emerald revealed her true intentions, certain that it would have destroyed Lars to know what she would have made of his crew.

It didn't go as she planned, as Lars kept smiling.

"I knew you'd say that."

"W-What?!" Emerald took a step back.

"That's why I brought them." Lars said.

As he said those exact words, Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst appeared from behind him.

"W-who are those gems?!" Emerald cried in disbelief.

Her shock grew as she saw the three gems start to dance. She realized too late what they were trying to do. A bright light engulfed them, and Alexandrite appeared.

"Destroy her!" Emerald commanded, before turning around and running towards her ship.

The patrol ships and the shattering robonoids surrounded her, but those little machines were nothing for the immense fusion. Alexandrite summoned her hammer and started smashing them, one by one. Some of the patrol ships tried to fire their blasters, but their shots didn't even graze her. When the gigantic hammer rested on her shoulder, Emerald's ship was the last one standing. It rose from the ground, its zero point energy cannon ready to immobilize her, but Alexandrite summoned her bow faster. She inserted an arrow and with one, single shot, she destroyed the machine. At that point, Emerald realized there was no way she could have won the battle. She commanded the peridots on the flight deck to move away, to flee from the formidable foe she called monstrosity. The ship rose above Alexandrite, ready to escape, but the fusion wasn't going to permit it. She pulled out her last weapon, her whip, and slashed it through the air. Emerald's ship moved towards the sky for some moments, seemingly unaffected… then… exploded into debris.

"Rest in pieces." Alexandrite muttered before unfusing.

Lars' crew reached him outside the Sun Incinerator, and the Crystal Gems did the same. When Garnet gave him an applause, they all started cheering him, and Lars felt his heart start beating again. He let out a long, calming breath before starting to laugh. They had done it. Lars' plan had worked. They defeated Emerald and now, they were ready to leave, and to return home.

But it wasn't really over, not yet.

 **(Farewell)**

"L-Lars." It was Emeral'd voice, it came from the mass of debris that fell down to the ground after her ship exploded.

Lars reached her. She was covered in scratches, the pads on her shoulders broken, and made exception for the higher part of her body, she was trapped under her own ship's debris. Her saber lied a few inches away from her hand. Lars moved quickly and snatched it away.

"Emerald." Lars' tone of voice didn't carry any mockery, just… compassion.

"Go on, finish what you started."

But Lars didn't do anything, he only grimaced at those words, his gaze softening.

"I said do it! Shatter me!" Emerald cried, desperate.

Lars turned around, looking at his crew, at the Crystal Gems. They were all holding their breath. Emerald would have returned if he wouldn't have done something about it. But as much as he wanted to see a monster in front of him, the same monster that mocked and threatened him and his crew so many times, he just couldn't do it.

"No… I won't."

"You're that much of a coward?! You can't even do something as simple as this?!" Emerald asked in disbelief. She couldn't understand, but it wasn't her fault.

"I'm not a coward. I'm a better captain. I'm a better person." Lars declared, before turning away.

He stopped when he heard a sniffle.

"Please… please do it… t-the Diamonds… they'll shatter me for this… I don't want to die that way… I want to die by the hands of a worthy foe…" Emerald tried to hold back a hiccup.

It was then that Lars fully grasped what kind of leaders Homeworld had. He turned around and reached Emerald, kneeling in front of her.

"Listen to yourself Emerald, are those the kind of leaders you want to follow? To pledge yourself to? Leaders who would kill you over a failure?"

Emerald didn't answer, she just lowered her gaze.

"Wouldn't you rather be free of them? Wouldn't you rather live knowing you could do and be anything you want without having to fear a punishment? Wouldn't you rather… wouldn't you rather come with us?"

Emerald tried not to give it away, but Lars noticed the conflict in her eyes. A world without punishments, without fear. The freedom to go wherever she wanted, to do whatever she wanted. Ah, the sweet dream that animated Rose's rebellion, and made her win.

But she couldn't. She wasn't brave enough. She wasn't strong enough.

"No… now leave…" Emerald whispered.

"Emerald…" Lars pleaded.

"I said leave!" Emerald shrieked, the saber in Lars' hand vanishing into thin air and another one appearing into hers.

She slashed it through the air. Lars jumped back, but when he touched his chest but noticed there was no wound. She missed him on purpose. Astonished, he watched her for another moment before the Twins' voices brought him back to reality.

"Captain! Two mega class imperial dreadnoughts are approaching!" The Twins yelled from the entrance panel of the Sun Incinerator.

"It's the Diamonds!" Rhodonite cried, visibly terrified.

"We have to go!" Garnet yelled, reaching the ship alongside everyone else, except for Lars.

"Go, I'll accept my fate." Emerald muttered.

"It didn't have to go this way Emerald." Lars shook his head.

"Yes, it did. I'm glad that at least it ended with the best captain still alive."

"You never stop bragging, do you?" Lars gave her a sad smile.

"I wasn't talking about myself…" Emerald extended her hand towards him.

Lars did the same, and before their last encounter came to an end, the two captains shook hands.

"Where's Captain Lars?!" Rhodonite asked as she reached her position on the flight deck.

"Right here." Lars answered, appearing on the entrance panel's threshold.

They all noticed the sadness in his eyes. Garnet was the first one to talk.

"Don't blame yourself, you did all you could, you must focus on saving your crew now…" Garnet said, putting her hand on Lars' shoulder.

"Right." Lars replied, taking his seat.

The Sun Incinerator rose up into the sky. This time, when the stars became visible, there was no one to stop them. Rhodonite put in the coordinates for Earth while Fluorite rerouted the power from the gravity engine to the nova thrusters.

"The Diamonds! Their ships are only two quads away!" Rhodonite yelled in panic, as multiple red warning texts appeared on the inner wall of the Sun Incinerator

"Twins? Let's get out of here!" Lars said.

And so they did. The Twins activated the nova thrusters and the Sun Incinerator disappeared just before the Diamonds' imperial dreadnoughts reached the asteroid mine. They did it. They were safe.

"We… we did it?" Rhodonite muttered in disbelief.

"We did it!" The Twins cheered.

"The Diamonds are coming!" Padparadscha exclaimed.

"Thanks Paddy, but we already escaped." Lars chuckled.

Away from the asteroid mine, away from Homeworld, from Emerald and the Diamonds, finally Lars and his crew felt a little bit of relief. It seemed like nothing else was going to try to stop them. Earth wasn't far, and so was freedom. Even the Crystal Gems looked relieved, each one of them… except for Garnet.

"Garnet? What's wrong?" Pearl asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"We need to go back…" Garnet whispered.

"What?" Amethyst asked, confused.

"We need to go back! Steven is in danger!" Garnet cried.

 **Meanwhile, on Earth:**

"Jasper…" Steven whispered.

And Jasper heard him.

The monster turned towards the little boy, releasing a terrifying, bestial roar. Steven covered his eyes, seeing Jasper raise one her clawed hands, ready to strike. Suddenly, a metallic sound rang through the air and all of Peridot's chains tangled themselves around the enormous orange beast.

"Now Steven!" Connie cried.

"She's stronger than I thought! I don't think I'll be able to hold her for much longer!" Peridot hissed through gritted teeth, trying her best not to let Jasper move.

That's when Steven stepped closer to her. She growled and struggled hard against her restraints, but strangely, the little boy in front of her didn't run away. He placed one hand on her gem and… maybe because of her shock, or because of something else, she stopped struggling. Her breathing became more and more relaxed until Steven leaned in. Forehead against forehead, the boy closed his eyes, then…

Steven sang…

 _"_ _You have fought a whole war to defend her_

 _You loved her too_

 _You have traveled the stars to avenge her_

 _You thought you understood_

 _Facing fire and seas didn't stop you_

 _'_ _Cause you held on_

 _But I'm here to tell you can stop now_

 _You want to fight but I don't_

 _I just want you to know_

 _What they told you isn't true_

 _To take revenge you made a vow_

 _But she's really…_

 _still with you."_

"Please, remember who you are…" Steven whispered.

Peridot fell to the ground, exhausted. Seeing that nothing was holding Jasper back anymore, Connie stepped forwards, sword in hand, ready to protect Steven. But Jasper didn't do anything. The great beast took a step back, quietly snarling, as if something she couldn't understand was happening to her. Then, after some moments, a bright light engulfed her. The beast began to change shape. Her form grew smaller and smaller until… the light faded, leaving on the beach a fully cured Jasper. No horns, no claws, no spots of green on her skin. Jasper looked at the small group in front of her for merely two seconds, her vision was blurry and before she could do anything else, she collapsed on the ground.

"Well… I didn't think it would go so well." Peridot said in a surprised tone of voice, standing up and using her power to tie one of the chains to Jasper's feet and drag her into the small cell a few meters away.

"We really did it!" Connie exclaimed happily.

"It must have been tiring to go back to her normal form." Steven thought aloud.

"Well, don't worry, I'll remain here and call you when she'll wake up." Peridot declared.

"Thanks Peri, I really don't want to miss the moment."

Evening came quickly. Despite all of Connie's protests, her mom came to take her home, asking her a myriad of questions when she saw Peridot guarding what looked like a cell with a gem inside of it. Steven began to wonder when Jasper would have woken up, before or after the gems returned from their space mission. Feeling tired, he brushed his teeth, put on his pajamas and got under the covers, thinking that the big and probably very angry gem surely would have been up in the morning. As he drifted to sleep, he thought about the gems, about Lars and the Off Colors, about Peridot, Lapis and Connie and about… Jasper. He must have thought about her very hard because at a certain point, he thought he really heard her voice.

"Hello Rose…"

That wasn't a dream. Steven understood it when opening his eyes he found himself looking directly into Jasper's. He tried to say something but Jasper grasped him by the collar of his pajamas and threw him hard against his bedroom's wall. It took a moment for Steven to realize that the orange gem had thrown him so hard that the wooden wall had shattered, and now he was flying towards the beach. The impact hurt, it hurt very bad. Steven was so confused that he didn't even think about summoning his bubble, but now he was awake, enough to roll away as Jasper came down from the sky, trying to crush him.

"Jasper… b-but how did you…" Steven wondered, a terrified look in his eyes as he saw the enormous gem approach.

"That little cell wouldn't have held even that sorry excuse of a quartz of yours, let alone me!"

"Where's Peridot?!" Steven looked frantically around, trying to spot her.

"She's right here." Jasper said grinning viciously, as she showed the green, triangular gem she held in her hand.

"Don't hurt her!" Steven cried.

"Oh, that's going to be a decision the Diamonds will make, but you… I'm not going to wait for their consent to crush you!"

"Wait Jasper! I-" Steven tried to talk but Jasper cut him off.

"I've waited long enough! I don't know what happened, what brought me back, but I'm not going to waste this opportunity!"

Jasper summoned her crash helmet and tried to hit Steven, whom immediately summoned his bubble around him. The collision made him fall on his knees. Jasper hit the bubble a second time, then a third and a fourth. That's when a crack appeared on the bubble's surface. Steven gritted his teeth as Jasper hit him another time. He wouldn't have been able to last much longer.

"J-Jasper… please…" Steven whispered.

But Jasper didn't listen.

She kept hitting and hitting.

The fire of vengeance fueling her.

Until the bubble burst and Steven fell on the ground.

"For my Diamond." Jasper seethed.

"Jasper, n-" Steven tried to speak, but it was too late.

Jasper's helmet came crushing down.

All Steven saw afterwards was darkness.

 **...**


	10. Chapter 10: Mom

**CHAPTER X: MOM**

Jasper's laugh rang through the air. It wasn't vicious or menacing, it was… liberating, as if all the pain, the hatred she felt for so long, were just about to disappear. She spent the last five thousand years picturing this very moment, the moment when she would have finally been able to find Rose Quartz. The moment when she'd finally confront her and beat her. The moment when she would have shattered her for what she had done. Her precious Diamond, her beautiful, perfect Diamond, now she could finally rest in peace. Jasper honestly thought that Rose Quartz would put up more of a fight, but it took only one blow to destroy her physical form. How could someone… something so weak, so disgusting, manage to shatter a Diamond? But it that wasn't the time to ask questions. That was the time for vengeance. Showing off a malicious grin, Jasper extended her hand towards the pink gem that now laid on the sand in front of her. She grasped it and opened her hand to give it one, final look. One final look at her mortal enemy.

But what she saw wasn't her mortal enemy…

The gem she saw wasn't Rose Quartz…

It wasn't even a quartz…

That's when her devilish smile disappeared. Her eyes became wide, her expression, terrified. Jasper covered her mouth, trying to muffle a strangled scream. It couldn't be. It couldn't be her. It couldn't be her… her…

"H-how can it… h-how… w-what did I…" Jasper mumbled incoherently, her eyes now filled with tears.

Then… there was pain.

Jasper fell to the ground. She didn't even see it coming. Astonished, she sat up and looked at her right arm. A white spear had pierced her right shoulder. Then she heard them. Voices. She looked in front of her and saw who had attacked her. The Crystal Gems. They were coming for her, and she was alone. She was alone and she couldn't think clearly. What she saw, the gem she saw… could it really… could it really be…

Another spear flew towards her. It missed her head for an inch. That's when Jasper stood up, that horrified expression still on her face. Confusion, fear, it all gripped her so tightly she felt like she couldn't move. She would have never won against the Crystal Gems. Not now. That is why, in that moment, Jasper did the unthinkable. She was a quartz, she was the ultimate quartz, she was made to fight but in that moment… she turned around and ran. She ran away from the gems that were chasing her, away from what she had done. She didn't want to look at that pink gem for another second. She felt Pearl's spears grazing her, one of them pierced her leg. One of Garnet's gauntlets hit her square in the back, but she had already reached the sea. Jasper didn't turn back, she kept going forwards until the waves engulfed her.

"Come back you monster! Come back!" Pearl screamed as she threw another spear at the waves, but Jasper was already gone.

"Oh no… oh no no no no no… no!" Amethyst yelled, looking at the pink gem that now laid in the sand before her.

Pearl immediately turned around and rushed towards her. She fell on her knees and took the gem in her trembling hands, holding it near to her chest.

"My baby… my baby, what did she do to you…" Pearl cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"He'll come back… I-I know he will! The gem is fine, Steven will be fine, right Pearl? Right?" Amethyst asked frantically.

But Pearl didn't answer, she just curled up on herself more and kept crying. Garnet on the other hand… wasn't crying. She was standing a few feet away from them, her eyes fixated on the sea.

"Garnet! Help us! W-we need to do something!" Amethyst called for her.

But Garnet remained still.

"God damnit Garnet! What do we do?!" Amethyst yelled in anger.

"I saw it…" Garnet muttered.

"What?"

"I saw Jasper hurting Steven." Garnet turned around, taking off her glasses.

Her eyes were wide and filled with tears. The fusion made her way towards her two companions, kneeling beside them, her gaze on the ground.

"I saw Steven curing Jasper. I saw him talk to her, I saw him fight her alongside Connie, I saw him try to reason with her… every scenario ended with him…" Garnet covered her mouth, she couldn't continue.

"That's why you yelled at him…" Amethyst realized.

"But it happened the same… we should have stayed… we should have…" Garnet couldn't contain herself any longer.

She threw her arms around Amethyst and Pearl… and cried.

 **Meanwhile, somewhere else:**

There was darkness.

An endless, dark void.

That is what Steven saw when he opened his eyes. His hearing was muffled, he could hear voices, but didn't really understand what they were saying. The only thing he could hear clearly, was the beating of his own heart. He looked at his hands. That is when he noticed that his vision was blurry, but still, he felt them, he felt like his hands were there, like… like he was there. Time passed, and nothing else happened. The voices got more and more muffled, until they disappeared, while the sound of his breath and his heart became stronger. Then… in the darkness… something appeared. It was a light. Small at the beginning, almost invisible, but it grew. It grew larger and brighter until… Steven felt… reinvigorated. His vision was less blurry, he could see his own hands clearly and somehow, he found himself walking towards the light. There was something, there was someone who was talking. No, not talking, it was a song. Steven kept walking, the light becoming so strong that it forced him to cover his eyes. But he didn't stop, he kept going forwards until… the light was gone. He opened his eyes and saw that the darkness was gone too. But he wasn't on the beach. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It didn't look like any of the places he had been before. It was… a garden, a very beautiful garden. The scent of roses and the gentle breeze that caressed his hair made it even more beautiful.

"Where am I?" Steven wondered out aloud, looking around.

The young boy began to wander around, trying to figure out where he was, or at least, to understand how he could go back. The only thing he remembered was… Jasper. The realization made him release a little yelp. He had cured her, he went to sleep and then… she attacked him, he tried to talk to her but… was he… was he- Steven's train of thoughts was interrupted by a distant sound. It was that song, the one that guided him through the darkness, the one that guided him here. Steven looked around and, in the distance, he saw what looked like a fountain. As he approached it, he noticed that there was someone sitting behind it. It was a tall figure… a tall figure with long, pinkish- Steven became immediately still, his eyes wide. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move. That figure… could it be… Steven took a step forward, then another, then another. He began to circle around the fountain, the tall figure's voice now clear to him. He remembered that voice. He dreamt of that voice, and when he finally reached its source, he felt like his heart had stopped beating. The figure raised its gaze, its expression as puzzled as Steven's. It stood up quickly, only to remain still afterwards. It seemed like an eternity had passed, when finally… the figure spoke.

"Steven…"

It was Rose Quartz's voice.

"H-how… h-how is it possible?"

Steven didn't answer, he remained silent, but when Rose took a step towards him, he suddenly flinched back.

"S-Steven?" Rose called his son, trying to reach out to him, only to see him recoil even more. It was a pain like no other. Why was her own child stepping away from her? Was he scared?

"Please don't lie." Steven whispered, his gaze low.

"What?"

"I know who you are… so please… don't lie… at least not to me… please…" Steven could feel his eyes starting to water.

That was the moment when Rose finally understood. Steven knew. He knew about her. He knew about what she did and… who she really was. She couldn't understand how he'd managed to find out the truth, but it didn't matter, because when she saw tears starting to fall from her own child's eyes, it was too much for her to bear. To know she had hurt him so much. To imagine how betrayed he must have felt in that moment, it was too much. A bright light engulfed her… and Rose Quartz was gone. Now… in front of Steven… there was Pink Diamond. Her own eyes filled with tears. She quickly stepped forwards and scooped the little boy into her arms, embracing him, holding him tightly, burying her face in his soft, curly hair, trying to give him all the affection she had never been able to give. Steven struggled against her, but only for a moment before she could feel his tiny arms circling her neck, hugging her back. It only made her cry more. She cried and laughed, and so did Steven.

"My Steven, my beautiful, precious little Steven." Pink whispered.

"M-mom…" Steven muttered between sobs.

"I know I hurt you… I lied to my closest friends and… I lied to you. I can't even find the right words to apologize for what I have done to you. Please… please forgive me… don't hate me Steven." Pink pleaded, holding the little boy tighter.

"I could never hate you mom. I love you… I love so much… I can't believe you're really here." Steven slightly pulled away and smiled brightly at his mother.

"Oh Steven… I'm here, it's really me and… I love you too, so, so much." Pink said, caressing Steven's cheek, smiling warmly as he leaned into her hand. "Oh! Look how big you've grown!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Well… I feel pretty small right now." Steven laughed.

Pink looked at him with a surprised expression before erupting into laughter. It was a teary laugh, but a joyful one nonetheless. She held him close and began to twirl around, both of them giggling.

"You're so beautiful… you're exactly as wonderful as Garnet had shown me…" Pink said, sitting down on the fountain's edge.

"Wait… Garnet did what?" Steven asked.

"Oh Steven… I thought I would have never been able to see you… let alone hug you…" Pink said, lightly ruffling Steven's hair. "B-but maybe you'd like me to stop now…" Her tone suddenly became downhearted. Steven wasn't an infant and maybe, Pink thought, he didn't really like to be cradled that much.

"No!" Steven exclaimed. "I mean… I like it… we have never done this before, we should recover all the hugs we haven't been able to give each other. It's fourteen years of delayed hugs!"

"Steven." Pink laughed again, embracing him tightly another time before slightly parting away. "As I was saying, I really thought I would have never been able to see you, so I asked Garnet to show me the future, to show me… you…"

"Well… what did you think about me back then?" Steven asked.

"That you were the most wonderful thing I had ever seen… back then I couldn't believe I would be able to bring such a beautiful, perfect little boy to the world…" Pink trailed off, her smile wavering, "… and… and I couldn't be there for you… you had to grow up without a mother. Steven, I wanted you to live and experience the beauties of Earth so much. I have given my life for you… but… it still wasn't enough… you deserved so, so much more."

Steven saw tears starting to stream down his mother's face. He immediately wiped them away and quickly kissed her cheek before embracing her tightly.

"Never say that again. You gave up your own life for me to live mine, and it's not true that you haven't been there. You've been there for me my whole life, every time I was sad I felt you cheering me up, every time I thought I couldn't do something, I felt you encouraging me and… every time I said 'I love you mom, goodnight'… I felt your embrace…"

"I love you Steven." Pink said, kissing both of his cheeks before pulling him close once more.

"I love you too mom." Steven answered, closing his eyes.

They both knew that this moment wouldn't have lasted forever, but it was okay.

It was okay.

 **Go hug your mom like right now.**


	11. Chapter 11: Coming back

**CHAPTER XI: COMING BACK**

Neither the mother nor the son wanted to brake apart from the warm embrace, both of them enjoying the closeness they thought they would have never been able to share. Steven still couldn't believe that he actually met his mother, and Pink still couldn't believe that she was holding him in her arms, her precious, wonderful son. Sadly, the moment didn't last forever. A doubt crept into Pink's mind, interrupting the moment. It made her loosen her hold on Steven, which the boy immediately noticed. He slightly pulled away and watched with a hint of worry his mother's increasing frown.

"What's wrong mom?" Steven asked.

"Steven… believe me when I say I couldn't be happier to see you, but… how can you be here?" Pink wondered.

Steven lowered his gaze, his memories strangely fuzzy. He focused and tried to recall the events that occurred before the meeting with his mother. He was with Connie and Peridot. They wanted to do something, something dangerous. It was something the gems would have never approved of, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He wanted to help someone… he wanted to cure someone… he wanted to cure a gem from corruption. He wanted to cure…

"Jasper…" Steven whispered, all of his memories coming back at once, his song, Jasper waking him up and throwing him on the beach, her helmet coming down and…

"Jasper?" Pink's cheerful tone faded, replaced by one of deep worry.

"She was one of your soldiers, she was made here on Earth, in the beta kindergarten…"

Pink remembered Jasper very well, the strongest quartz ever created, but also the most stubborn. Loyalty was an admirable trait, but Jasper's devotion towards her blinded her. She never even considered to think about what Earth could have given her, the most precious thing ever… freedom. She didn't care about the Earth, about humans, about freeing her sisters from the Diamonds' tyranny. She wanted to fight, to destroy, nothing more.

"What does she have to do with-" And then Pink suddenly became silent, her eyes wide as the realization hit her. "What did she do to you…" She whispered, her voice cracking.

"Mom please, don't be angry with her, she didn't know who you really are, she thought I was you, she thought I was Rose Quartz, the gem that shattered her Diamond… I tried to reason with her but she… she…" Steven trailed off, seeing his mother's eyes, filled with tears.

"Mom… please don't cry."

"My Steven, oh my poor child." Pink muttered.

"Mom? What's happening?" Steven asked, both confused and frightened by his mother's reaction.

"Do you know what this place is Steven?"

The question took the young boy by surprise, since the first moment he got into that strange yet beautiful place Steven never stopped and tried to figure out where he actually was, but now… now that his memories were coming back, the memories of his latest encounter with Jasper, he finally began to understand.

 _"_ _Sometimes, if our bodies are badly damaged, we release our physical forms and retreat to our gems to regenerate."_

Garnet's words came to Steven's mind and it was in that exact moment, that he understood. This place, the place where he finally met his mother after so long… could it be…

"Our gem…" Steven whispered, clutching his stomach.

"Yes Steven." Pink nodded.

"Does… does this mean I'm regenerating myself?"

"I… I don't know Steven… that is why I'm so scared. I wanted you so much, I wanted you to exist and experiment all the beauties of Earth. I knew you'd become someone entirely new, someone completely free from Homeworld's ideologies, someone who could call the Earth his homeworld, but… I also didn't know which of my powers you would have inherited… I didn't know if you could summon my shield… if you could cure injuries like I could do… and I didn't know if you could… if you could… oh Steven, why did you do that?" Pink asked, slowly shaking her head.

"Because… because Jasper wouldn't have gotten corrupted of she knew the truth, I felt responsible and I wanted to help her. Even if she did some bad stuff in the past, I think she deserves a second chance." Steven spoke in a determined tone of voice.

"Steven…" Pink whispered, exhaling a teary breath, although she was smiling. Good, kind, compassionate, this was her child, her Steven, and she couldn't have been prouder of him.

"Mom please, stop crying. I'll be fine, we're here, that must mean that our gem is fine, right?" Steven smiled encouragingly, wiping away his mother's tears.

"Yes… yes it'll be all right." Pink said, covering Steven's tiny hand with her own, keeping it on her cheek for a moment before letting go.

"Oh my gosh! The gems must be so worried!" Steven realized.

The sudden mention of her old friends brought a nostalgic look on Pink's face.

"How are they?" Pink asked, her gaze distant.

"Oh! They're fine! I mean, of course, sometimes they miss you mom… you were their rock…" Steven's smile faded a bit. "Sometimes I feel like… I feel like-" But the young boy couldn't continue, he felt his mother's finger pressing gently against his lips, signaling him to stop.

"No Steven… I know what you wanted to say, but please… please understand. I never wanted you to be me. I wanted you to be you, and you're wonderful, trust me. Did… did they ever make you feel like-"

"No! No. They really love me, I know they do. They're my family, they take care of me and… I take care of them too, just like you asked me too." Steven explained.

"Oh my stars! You met lion!" Pink exclaimed, stars appearing in her eyes. "Isn't he the most adorable fluff ball ever?"

"That he is." Steven replied with a chuckle.

"And… Pearl… is she really okay?"

"She's the one who misses you the most but… she really loves me mom, I'm sure of it. A while ago she used to watch me sleep, I think to watch over me but, it still felt kinda weird."

"Oh what would I give to watch you sleep every night." Pink spoke dreamily.

"What?" Steven asked, what was with everyone wanting to watch him sleep?

"Don't you know? It's a mom thing." Pink laughed in relief. "I was so worried about her, like she'd disappear when I did. But I'm glad she's fine and… I'm glad to know she really loves you."

"Oh my gosh, these are like, two of one million things I have to tell you! So much happened! Do you… do you want me to tell you?" Steven asked, uncertain.

"I can't wait Steven," Rose smiled warmly, "But first, let me show you something."

Pink slowly settled Steven down, standing up from the edge of the fountain. She started walking and motioned him to follow her. They walked in silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Steven kept following his mother until they reached a small grass hill. Nothing could have prepared him for the beauty that stood behind it. As they reached the hill's top, Pink kneeled down, Steven did the same and when his gaze fell on what was in front of them, his mouth fell open. In front of him there was a vast valley covered in rose gardens, the sky was of a calming light blue and no clouds where to be seen.

"Woah… I can't see the end of it!" Steven marveled with starry eyes.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Pink said, hugging her knees, resting her chin on her hands, smiling.

"It is… but… don't you ever… feel lonely?" Steven asked, a frown on his face.

"No Steven, I have you, I always had you…" Pink said, gently caressing his hair. "Now tell me, I want to know everything."

And so Steven told her about everything he could think of. He told her about his dad, about how he still loved to play music, that he actually became a teacher for some time and that one of his songs did kinda become famous, and made him rich. When he talked about Greg, Steven could have sworn he saw his mom quickly wipe away a tear. He talked about all of his adventures with the gems, about how he freed Lapis Lazuli and became friends with her. He told her about Peridot's arrival and her decision to protect the Earth. He told her… about the Cluster. Pink remained silent, her gaze low, all of the Crystal Gems they couldn't find, they've always been under their feet. But when Steven told her he managed to talk with them and bubble them, so that they could finally rest, she smiled again. He talked about Connie, his best friend, he told her the first fusion he ever made was with her. Steven laughed when his mother squealed excitedly and hugged him tight, swirling him around. She could have never fused with Greg, but Steven, Steven could actually fuse with the one he loved. When Pink told him, Steven blushed furiously, telling her Connie was his best friend. He only blushed more when his mom gave him a 'really' look. Steven told her about the Diamonds, about Blue taking his dad into space and about how sad they looked when they talked about her, especially Blue. Pink sighed heavily, her sisters, it wasn't a topic she was very fond of, but deep, deep down, she knew they loved her and… she loved them too, even after all what happened between them. Steven told her about everything he could remember, savoring every moment, every laugh and all the hugs they shared. When a bright light appeared on the horizon, he didn't know how much time had passed. He knew that eventually the time to go would have come, he was sad of course, but he also couldn't wait to see the gems, to see his dad and Connie. Steven looked at his mom, she was smiling, and a few tears were streaming down her face. She took him into one, final, tight embrace before letting him go. She was ready to turn around and go back to the garden when she heard Steven calling her.

"Will you walk with me?"

Pink let out a brief, teary laugh.

"Always."

They walked together towards the light, knowing that whatever would have happened, they would have always had each other.

 **Hoooooo boy, here I am, I'm still alive guys, and I'm really, really sorry about not posting a new chapter in so long. You see, in a few days I have a very important exam, and I really didn't have time to write. I hope you liked this chapter and I want you to know that I'll keep writing and writing, the story in not over so bear with me okay? I'd like to write more but I can't, however as soon as I'll have finished the exam, I'll try to post more often. Well, time's up, back to study, and don't worry, it won't be too long until the next chapter! Bye!**


	12. Chapter 12: Finding her

**CHAPTER XII: FINDING HER**

None of them spoke a single word. Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst went back towards the house. Once in, Garnet leaned on the counter, her gaze low. Amethyst sat down on the couch while Pearl… Pearl sat down on Steven's bed, his gem clutched against her chest. Hours passed, but nothing happened. The morning after, Amethyst and Garnet found her still in the exact, same position. Her eyes were half opened, distant, almost… lifeless.

"Pearl…" Amethyst tried to call her, but she received no response.

"Pearl look at us." Garnet said, sitting down on the bed, gently taking the pale gem's face between her hands. "It will be alright."

"Have you seen it?" That was Pearl's question, a question Garnet had hoped she wouldn't do.

"I…" Garnet stammered, she didn't dare to look into the future, she wasn't strong enough, she just hoped that everything would turn out alright.

"It doesn't matter! Steven will be okay P!" Amethyst spoke loudly, almost angrily, she was afraid, she was mad, but her gaze softened once she saw Pearl's tears. "P… you gotta be strong… we all gotta be strong for him, okay?"

"O-okay…" Pearl whispered. " Can you stay?"

"Of course we'll stay, we'll stay until he'll come back." Garnet reassured, softly rubbing Pearl's back.

Meanwhile, on Yellow Diamond's asteroid mine:

"Look at this disaster… how could we create such incompetent gems…" Yellow Diamond seethed.

Her ship, alongside Blue's, landed on the asteroid mine a few moments later Lars's escape. Needless to say, both Diamonds became furious once they discovered that Rose Quartz had once again managed to avoid her fate.

"My Diamond." A couple of Citrines saluted, they were holding a gem by her arms.

"Ah… there you are… do you have any excuses?" Yellow Diamond crossed her arms, there wasn't even the slightest trace of compassion in her voice, nor in Blue's gaze once it fell on the captured gem.

As soon as the Diamonds arrived, they demanded for the captain they trusted with Rose Quartz's capture to be found. And now there she was, defeated, broken, covered in scratches, standing only thanks to the two Citrines who were holding her.

Emerald.

"M-my Diamond… their captain… tricked me…" Emerald muttered without breath.

"You mean that a human tricked you."

"There… there were other gems… I didn't know…" Emerald's excuses were cut short.

"You should have been prepared Emerald, we gave you one of Homeworld's best ships and now look… you managed to turn it into debris… you failed… again." Yellow Diamond spoke in a menacing tone.

"N-next time I promise I'll catch them!" Emerald cried.

"Next time? There won't be a next time." Yellow Diamond answered with a mock laugh.

Emerald's eye widened in terror.

"Be sure to escort this sorry excuse of a captain back on Homeworld. Commission her execution to an Onyx, I don't care which one." Yellow Diamond waved at the two citrines, who slightly bowed before taking Emerald away.

"My Diamond! Please! I will do better! Give me another chance!"

But Emerald's words fell on deaf ears as both Yellow and Blue Diamond turned around, ready to leave the mine.

"What should we do now?" Blue asked.

"It's time to take the matter into our own hands." Yellow Diamond growled menacingly.

Meanwhile, in Beach City:

It was after one, agonizingly slow hour that finally, Steven's gem began to glow. A chubby silhouette formed around the pink gem and in a matter of seconds, the young boy was back. He didn't even have the time to land properly on the ground, the gems tackled him before that, enveloping him into a bone crushing hug.

"Steven!" They cried together.

"Guys!" Steven said, both laughing and crying.

"Oh my stars you're back! You're really back!" Pearl exclaimed, happy and baffled together, taking Steven's face gently between her hands.

"Mom says hi." Steven smiled, leaning into her touch.

"W-what?" Pearl whispered, dumbfounded.

"You saw Rose?!" Amethyst asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, she loves us guys, she never stopped loving us and she'll never stop, never."

The group remained together in silence, enjoying Steven's return. It was after some minutes that Steven spoke up.

"Oh my gosh! Peridot! Where is she?!" Steven looked around frantically.

"Don't worry, we found her gem on the beach." Garnet said smiling, opening her fist, revealing a green gem that laid on her palm.

"Peri…" Steven said, gently taking the gem into his own hands. The young boy closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath before speaking again. "Where's Jasper?"

"She got away before we could catch her, but we will, oh we will and when that happens I'll-" Pearl growled before Steven interrupted her.

"I have to find her." Steven said determinately.

"You can't be serious." Garnet whispered.

"Dude she crushed you into smoke." Amethyst said grimacing.

"Absolutely not!" Pearl said out aloud.

"Who do you think let her out and cured her?" Steven asked.

"Oh my stars, y-you let her out! Steven why did you do that?!"

"Because she's one of the gems that suffered more because of mom's lies, and now I have to make it right." Steven said hopping down his bed, he stopped when he felt Garnet's hand on his shoulder. "Garnet please, I know you all love me and don't want me to get hurt, but now she knows and I think it might have broken her inside. I have to find Jasper, I have to make it right, for her, for me, for mom, for everyone."

Garnet remained silent for a moment before speaking up.

"We're going with you, me and Pearl, you and Amethyst, we'll split up and search for her and when we'll find her… then we'll decide what to do." Garnet said, a ghost of a smile appearing on her face, she was worried, but she also knew that Steven was right.

"Garnet he just came back, we can't risk-" Pearl tried to speak but became silent as she felt Garnet's touch on her shoulder.

"She won't hurt him, not now that she knows."

Pearl and Garnet decided to look underwater, after all, when Malachite was destroyed and Jasper lost in the sea, that's where she hid herself, waiting for her chance to attack. Steven and Amethyst decided to look elsewhere, the place where Jasper was created… and defeated. They reached the warp pad and disappeared into the beam of light. Seconds later, they found themselves looking at the Beta Kindergarten.

"Okay, we've gotta be silent, I don't want her to run away." Steven whispered.

"Okay." Amethyst replied.

The two of them kept walking until finally, they heard a sob. It was coming from a hole of one of the Beta Kindergarten's walls. It was Jasper's hole. Amethyst motioned Steven to remain where he was, she would check if everything was alright and then he could proceed to… do whatever he had in mind. Amethyst jumped and landed on the hole's entrance. Jasper was sitting right at its bottom, curled on herself, trying to suppress her sobs. When she heard Amethyst approach, she slightly raised her face.

"This is just perfect, she sent you to shatter me, good, that's the only thing I deserve." Jasper half laughed.

"Lucky for you, Steven is not like that."

"Stop calling her that, it's desecrating." Jasper growled.

"Listen, Steven is here okay? Outside this hole, he wants to talk to you, to make peace, to explain things. You hurt him, again and again and this time we thought he was gone for good, but he's not and he wants to give you a second chance, so you might want to stop acting like an idiot and listen to him." Amethyst stated.

Jasper looked slightly surprised, there was something authoritarian in that little runt's voice. She had to admit, she was defective but she was brave.

"I don't want a second chance, I don't deserve it." Jasper grumbled.

"You do." Steven said, appearing in front of the hole's entrance.

Amethyst stepped aside, giving him a warning look before leaving him alone with Jasper. Steven hesitated for a moment before stepping forward, he kept walking towards Jasper until he reached her side. The big orange gem kept her face hidden between her knees. Steven sighed and sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry." Steven said.

"Please do it… I know I don't deserve your forgiveness… I don't understand what is happening and maybe I don't want to understand… I hurt you… my own diamond… I know there'll be a punishment so just do it…" Jasper murmured.

"There won't be any punishment for you Jasper, it's not your fault." Steven said.

"You're lying… you're… please don't look at me… I'm not supposed to look weak in front of you."

"Jasper you got it all wrong, I wanted to explain but you didn't let me… I'm… it's true that Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond… but I'm… I'm not her… not entirely." Steven said.

"I saw the gem, I know it's you…" Jasper whispered.

"It's true, this is Pink Diamond's gem, but think about it. Back on Peridot's ship, the first time we met, how do you think I got out of that cell?" Steven asked.

"I… I…" Jasper was at loss of words. No gem could have escaped that energy field.

"It's because I'm half human Jasper, that's how I escaped and that's how I managed to fuse with my human friend Connie."

"That doesn't make sense." Jasper's face finally became visible, she looked scared, confused and obviously, as always, angry.

"Pink Diamond tried to convince Yellow and Blue Diamond to let the Earth live but they wouldn't listen to her. She loved this planet Jasper, more than anything else, that's why she decided to create someone who could face the Diamonds, who could lead a rebellion and save this beautiful planet."

"Ha! Beautiful, look at what it did to so many gems!" Jasper laughed bitterly.

"You're wrong Jasper. It wasn't the Earth that corrupted gems, the Diamonds did that."

"N-no, no you're lying! There were Homeworld gems between those monsters! The Diamonds couldn't have done that to their own soldiers!"

"They did Jasper. Pink Diamond faked her shattering, she knew it was the only way to make Yellow and Blue leave, but they didn't go away without one last attack. They used their power to corrupt every gem that remained on the Earth, to avenge Pink's death." Steven explained. Seeing how Jasper remained silent, he decided to continue. "After the war, many years after, Pink Diamond fell in love with a human. She wanted to have a baby but she couldn't without giving him something of herself. That's how human babies are made, both mother and father have to give something of themselves for the baby to be born. Pink had only one thing to give… her gem… that's how I was made… I'm her son."

"H-how… I don't…" Jasper muttered, her eyes fixed on Steven.

"I know it's a lot to take in… just know that I'm here and that… I forgive you Jasper…" Steven slowly moved his hand towards the bulky gem, and laid it on her arm, it was strangely soothing and comforting, Jasper thought.

"You don't know what you're saying, you can't just forgive me after all what I've done."

"I already did." Steven smiled up at her and moved his hand to take her much larger one.

Jasper didn't resist when Steven helped her stand up, she didn't resist when he took her out of that dark hole or when he guided her towards the warp pad. She didn't run when she appeared inside what looked like a tiny human settlement and saw the remaining Crystal Gems taking out their weapons, ready to strike. She didn't summon her helmet, and remained baffled as she listened to… Steven… explaining how she now knew the truth, how he wanted to give her a second chance, how she trusted her despite everything she did to them. One thing Jasper knew for sure. Pink Diamond was still alive, maybe not as she remembered her, but she loved her 'son' so much that she gave him her gem, that she became part of him. She'd protect him with her life, for that was her purpose. Little did she know, Steven would show her there was more, so much more to life than that.

 **Boyyyyyyy! Did you miss me? The exams are finally finished but only for a little period of time, soon they'll start again so I don't have much time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you'll enjoy the next ones, probably two more before the story ends. The truth is that I had many other ideas but I'm feeling like my inspiration is fading, so I'm going to write a really good ending instead of going on with mediocre chapters for who know how long. Oh and one thing before I go, how awesome were the latest episodes! I mean, both Bismuth AND the Diamonds appearing AND the cluster emerging AND Steven finally telling the Diamonds the truth! I have only one complaint, the season has just two more episodes before it's concluded, come on they could have given them to us immediately! I mean come on! Really?! Ending before showing Yellow and Blue's reaction to Steven revealing them who he really is?! That's mean, really mean.**


	13. Chapter 13: Learning

**CHAPTER XIII: LEARNING**

"Absolutely not! She's not staying here unguarded! I'm not allowing it!" Pearl stomped her foot down.

"You are not allowing it? If you think you can stop me from guarding him, then you're as defective as you look." Jasper asked raising an eyebrow.

"Jasper, don't say things like that, it's not nice." Steven groaned.

"Why you big, stupid-" Pearl started but was interrupted by Garnet raising a hand.

"She's not going to hurt Steven Pearl, don't worry, but I'm staying outside, just to make sure."

"Good, someone has to keep an eye on this brute." Pearl hissed looking Jasper straight in the eyes before turning around and disappearing into her room.

It made Jasper feel strange, why didn't that Pearl look scared? How could she look straight into her eyes and offend her like that? She surely had to be defective. Still… how could she not be afraid?

"Welp, I'm going to my room too, need a little nap." Amethyst

"You don't need that." Jasper growled.

"Still feels good Jas."

"That's not my name."

"Sorry Jaspy." Amethyst snorted as the temple's door closed behind her.

Jasper muttered something under her breath before turning towards Steven.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asked with a confused tone of voice.

"Oh, I'm just getting ready to sleep." Steven said as he took his pajamas and headed towards the bathroom.

"You too?! You can't be serious, I'd understand if the runt wanted to do that, but you shouldn't waste time doing that when we could spend the night training."

"Jasper I couldn't do that even if I wanted, I'm half human so I need to sleep in order to gain back energies. I need to sleep, to eat and to drink every day." Steven explained as began brushing his teeth.

"What?! But that's… that's so… limiting!" Jasper nearly cried in disbelief.

"Mmmm, maybe in some ways, but in others… it makes me stronger." Steven said giving her a kind smile.

"In what ways?" Jasper scoffed, crossing her arms.

"Well, thanks to my human part I could evade from that cell on Peridot's ship!" Steven said, amused by Jasper's expression, she looked like she was slightly taken aback. "Oh, and I can fuse with my friend Connie, who's human, together we make Stevonnie and it's amazing!"

"A human doesn't deserve to fuse with a Diamond." Jasper grumbled.

"Jasper, I'm not a Diamond, I'm… I'm not Pink, you know that right?"

"You're her legacy! And of course you're a Diamond! You literally have a Diamond embedded in you!" Jasper motioned towards his slightly uncovered stomach.

"Jasper… this doesn't make me better than anyone else." Steven tried to explain.

"Of course it does…" Jasper said, sounding puzzled by Steven's words.

"Jasper, who we are isn't determined by this," Steven pointed towards his gem, "Or by this," Then he pointed at Jasper's, "It is what we do with our life that determines who we are, our actions, not our origin."

Jasper looked surprised by Steven's words, no one ever told her something like that. On Homeworld, status meant everything, but here she was now, on Earth, in front of a Diamond who was telling her that they weren't better than her, that they were… equal.

"I'm… I'm not like you…" Jasper murmured.

"Of course not, you're you, that's what makes you so amazing. Of course, you made some… ehm… questionable choices that I don't really share… but it wasn't your fault. Homeworld made you think that it was the right way to act…"

"Which one of my choices do you not share?" Jasper asked.

"Well… trying to kidnap me and my family… hurting Lapis…" Steven stopped for a moment as he saw Jasper grimace at the blue gem's name, "And all those mean things you said to Amethyst."

"What mean things?" Jasper asked, confused.

"All those things about her being defective and calling her runt and stuff." Steven clarified as he finished washing his face.

"Those weren't mean, it's simply the truth."

"Jasper…" Steven said with a waring tone.

Jasper couldn't explain it, she understood that Steven wasn't Pink Diamond, he was so much smaller… yet, those serious eyes and that warning voice, she wasn't exactly scared but… for the first time she really felt like she did something wrong.

"Amethyst is part of my family, maybe she's not like the other amethysts but I love her nonetheless. She's funny, brave, strong and she'd do anything to protect me. Now… would you get mad if someone said mean things about Pink Diamond? Or about me?" Steven asked.

"Of course!" Jasper answered.

"And I would get mad if you said anything bad about Amethyst, or Garnet, or Pearl or any other member of my family. Do you understand?"

How could all of them being important to him as Pink Diamond was important to her, Jasper couldn't tell yet, but she would try to understand. She nodded slowly.

"I understand that Homeworld must have taught you to fight like that, to say mean things to make your adversary more insecure, but… you really hurt Amethyst's feelings… will you tell her that you're sorry?"

That went against everything that Jasper knew… but… if Steven thought it was the right thing to do and… her Diamond valued gems like Amethyst so much… then she'd try.

"I… I will." Jasper answered, a little uncertain.

Steven exhaled and smiled briefly before going out the bathroom and reaching his bedroom. He tucked himself under the covers and looked at Jasper.

"Goodnight Jasper."

"Ehm… goodnight Steven." Jasper answered.

Minutes passed and nothing happened. Jasper had never been so bored in her entire life. Sure, she was guarding Steven but she knew that nothing would have tried to attack him during the night. She just remained at the feet of his bed, watching the little boy. His breathing became calmer and calmer, it was strangely soothing. At one point, Jasper decided to stretch her legs. She slowly stood up and went towards the house's door. When she closed the door behind her and turned towards the beach, she suddenly remembered the fusion's words. Garnet slightly turned her head towards Jasper before resuming her star gazing. It bothered Jasper that the fusion didn't look alarmed, not even a bit.

"Steven is… asleep." Jasper said awkwardly.

"I'm glad, if he fell asleep so fast, it means he trusts you." Garnet said without turning around.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asked, both confused and irritated by the fusion's behavior.

"I'm stargazing." Garnet answered with a slight smile.

"Despite the fact that you shouldn't even exist, you're made of a Ruby and a Sapphire and that is not what neither of your parts should be doing with their time." Jasper said, crossing her arms.

"Instead of being grumpy, you could join me." Garnet said, her smile growing bigger as she slightly turned around and noticed Jasper's surprised and baffled expression.

Jasper didn't move, she remained there, behind Garnet, conflicted about what to do next. It was about ten minutes later that she stepped closer to the fusion, joining her and looking up at the stars.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Garnet said.

"I… I don't know…"

"Yes, you do, you're just scared of saying something a quartz shouldn't be supposed to say."

"I'm not afraid of anything." Jasper answered, her tone suddenly aggressive.

"I am."

"Of course you are, you're defective."

"No, I simply know who I am, and I'm free. What about you?" Garnet asked, without malice.

She turned around and looked at Jasper for a few seconds. The orange gem looked taken aback by her question, but Garnet just smiled and went towards the house's door.

"Aren't you going to watch over Steven?" Jasper asked.

"No, he's in good hands."

Garnet disappeared into the house, leaving Jasper behind. Garnet… that fusion was defective, wrong, she shouldn't exist. Yet… that fusion defeated her, she was happy with herself, she was free, she didn't have any doubts, not like her… maybe… just maybe… she could ask… no, no she wouldn't ask her anything, she didn't need anything from that shameless display. Jasper grunted and made her way into the house. Steven was still asleep. She didn't know how much time it would take for him to wake up, so she sat down on a large, soft… thing… and tried not to think about anything. It only made her eyelids heavier and heavier until… everything went dark.

"What are you doing?"

It was a commanding voice, one that would make any gem shiver in fear. Jasper opened her eyes and somehow, found herself in a large, yellowish chamber. She looked around, she tried to move but much to her dismay, she couldn't. She tried and tried again, but she couldn't move a muscle. It was that voice and the sudden presence of a towering figure appearing in front of her that made her snap out of her attempts to move.

"What… are… you… doing?!" Finally Jasper understood.

She finally understood where she was. She couldn't understand how she was there, but that chamber was very familiar to her, just like the figure that now towered threateningly above her.

Yellow Diamond.

"I'm serving m-my Diamond. I'm p-protecting her legacy." Jasper answered, why was her voice trembling?

"I am your Diamond."

"No… Pink Diamond is-" Jasper tried to speak but was silenced.

"Pink Diamond was shattered, it is I that made so that a failure such as you wouldn't get shattered… and now you're mine… mine! Do you understand?!"

"No! Pink Diamond is still alive! She's my Diamond!" Jasper yelled back.

"You dare?! You dare to lie to me?! To desecrate Pink's memory with these absurd claims?!"

"I'm not lying! I'm not-"

But Yellow Diamond didn't listen, she raised her boot above Jasper, who couldn't move, who couldn't understand what was happening, who couldn't understand how to make any of this stop. The boot came down and Jasper closed her eyes. Darkness. There was darkness for a moment. Then Jasper opened her eyes and screamed. She jumped to her feet and assumed a fighting pose. She looked around frantically and noticed that Yellow Diamond was nowhere to be seen, her palace was nowhere to be seen. She was in Steven's house, and the little boy was standing in front of her, a worried expression on his face. He came near her and she relaxed, letting her arms fall down to her sides. Steven took in his hands one hers and gave her a comforting glance.

"It was just a nightmare."

"Nightmare?"

"Yes, sometimes when we fall asleep, we dream. The dreams are like, living again some of your memories or… seeing something you really want to see or something… you're really scared of. But they're not real." Steven explained.

"I'm not going to close my eyes anymore." Jasper declared. She sighed heavily before speaking again. "I'm sorry if I… woke you up."

"Don't worry, I was already awake. I went to buy some breakfast. These are called doughnuts! You should try one!" Steven said excitedly taking a strange, round object with a hole in the middle and giving it to her.

Jasper took it hesitantly.

"What should I do with it?"

"Oh, you eat it! Like this." Steven demonstrated taking a bite of the sweet treat before chewing and swallowing it.

"I… don't need to eat." Jasper said with an uncertain tone of voice.

"I know, but maybe you'd like it! Just try it once, please?" Steven made a strange face, he was smiling and his eyes became bigger and shinier.

Jasper sighed before putting the whole doughnut into her mouth, she started chewing and after a few moments she swallowed.

"Soooooo?"

"It was… sweet… and soft." Jasper declared.

"So you liked it?" Steven asked with enthusiasm.

"It wasn't… so bad." Jasper answered, gems weren't supposed to eat, she was supposed to fight, yet… she did kind of enjoy the small round thing.

"Yey! There are lots of different foods that you can try, not only sweet things, maybe at lunch you can try something else."

"Lunch?" Jasper asked, confused.

"Oh yeah, I have to eat three times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Well, sometimes I eat something at noon, you know, a little snack." Steven laughed briefly.

"Three times a day?! That's… that's such a waste of time!" Jasper exclaimed.

"I enjoy it, plus, it gives me the energies I need to train." Steven flexed and smiled hugely.

"A Diamond shouldn't have to fight, that's what her court is for."

"Well… I don't have a court, I have a family, and I want to train and to become stronger so that I can protect them." Steven explained.

Jasper remained silent for a moment, seemingly thinking about something.

"Then I'll do my best to make you stronger." Jasper declared, Steven wasn't Pink Diamond, but he was her legacy, he wanted to become stronger, to learn how to fight and to defend the ones he cared about, it was his desire, and she wouldn't let him down. She wouldn't let her down, not this time.

"Cool! So you're gonna help Pearl training me and Connie?" Steven asked excitedly.

"What?" Jasper asked, baffled more than ever.

"Well, Pearl usually trains us, me and my friend Connie, oh gosh! She's gonna be here at minutes! I didn't warn her about you being here!" Steven suddenly panicked.

"A Pearl can't train… a-a Pearl can't train a Diamond to fight! A Pearl can't fight!" Jasper exclaimed.

"Jasper, that's not true, Pearl can fight and she's great at it! Didn't you see her during the gem war?"

"I heard stories, but I didn't believe them."

"Well, now you get the chance to see the terrifying renegade Pearl in action!"

"I highly doubt it." Jasper grumbled.

It was then that Connie opened the door, she smiled at Steven, but when she noticed who was behind him, her smile fell and she immediately pulled out Rose's sword.

"Wait! Connie! It's alright! Jasper is on our side now!" Steven said, running towards her, waving his arms in the air.

"What?!" Connie exclaimed, not lowering her weapon.

"It's a long story."

͠

"You're mom… was a Diamond." Connie couldn't believe her own words.

"Are… are we still friends?" Steven asked hesitantly.

"What?! Of course Steven! This doesn't change anything between us!" Connie said, immediately giving him a hug.

"I'm happy you took this so well." Steven said happily.

"So… you freed her because you thought she deserved to know the truth?"

"Yes… and now Jasper is on our side! I trust her… so… do you think you could try to trust her too?"

"She did try to hurt you…" Connie said, her voice sounding doubtful.

"I did because I didn't really know who he was… but… I realize now that I acted like a fool… I'm… I'm sorry." It was hard, harder than she thought to say that, a soldier isn't sorry, a soldier doesn't apologize but… she felt like it was the right thing to do.

"Okay… I trust you… but I'm not going to give you another chance."

Jasper simply nodded. It was then that the temple's door opened.

"Steven, Connie… Jasper…" Pearl said, reaching the trio in the living room.

"Pearl! We're ready for training!" Steven exclaimed, jumping up from the sofa.

"And what is she going to do while we're at the arena?" Pearl asked.

"She's going to come with us!" Steven said.

"Steven, I don't think this is a good idea." Pearl slowly shook her head.

"Afraid I'll get to see that you don't measure up to the legends about you?" Jasper said with a smirk.

"Oh you… fine, let her come, I'll show you that my techniques exceed by far your… rolling around with that ridiculous hat you call a weapon."

"It's a battling helmet." Jasper growled.

Pearl simply smirked, she turned around and reached the warp pad. The trio tagged along and together they vanished into the beam of light, reaching the sky arena seconds later.

"Very well, I think you're ready for the next level." Pearl said, summoning four of her holo-pearls.

"You're making them fight you? Even for a human that's not a fair fight." Jasper intervened.

"You speak tough… but what are you without your little destabilizer?" Pearl spoke standing right in front of her, she looked her straight in the eyes and for a moment, Jasper had no answer. "Yeah, like I thought."

"You think I need something else than my hands to defeat you?" Jasper asked daringly.

"Yes, so why don't you go sit there and let me train Steven and Connie?"

'The nerve of this-!' Jasper thought.

"I'd prefer if you stood aside and let a true warrior train them."

"You'll have to poof me if you want me to move."

"Ehm guys? Don't quarrel please." Steven asked, but neither of the two gems heard him.

"You sure you want this to end like this? But after all, even if I destroy your body, there isn't much to reform." Jasper was going to laugh but she immediately became silent as Pearl's foot collided with her face, making her take a step back.

"I can slow down if this is too much for you." Pearl said with a smirk.

"You asked for it."

Jasper summoned her helmed and quickly dashed towards Pearl, but the pale gem simply dodged to the right and proceeded to charge and fire a blast of energy that hit Jasper, interrupting her dash and making her fall to the ground. The orange gem stood up quickly and turned around, only to notice that Pearl was nowhere to be seen. She heard a movement behind her and understood that while she was on the ground, Pearl had reached her and jumped over her. Jasper quickly took a step back and the point of Pearl's spear cut through her uniform. Jasper covered the scratch with a hand, a baffled look appearing on her face before she tried to punch Pearl. But the pale gem jumped and landed on her arm, before delivering another kick to her face. This time Jasper didn't stumble, she reacted quickly and managed to hit Pearl with the back of her hand. But to her surprise, Pearl landed almost gracefully on her feet a few meters away. Jasper didn't lose a second and immediately tried her dash attack again. This time however, as soon as she reached Pearl, she stopped. As she predicted, she saw Pearl jump over her. Jasper took her by her ankle and threw her to the ground. Her spear dissipated. Jasper jumped over her, now she was too near for Pearl to use such a long weapon. Too bad she didn't know the pale gem had a few tricks up her sleeve. Jasper raised her helmet above Pearl's head, ready to strike, when she felt a stinging pain. She looked down and noticed that a short blade had pierced her right through the yellow diamond on her uniform. She looked at Pearl with an astonished expression before vanishing into a cloud of smoke.

"Pearl! Are you alright?" Steven asked, running to her side.

"I'm fine, it's been ages since I had such a strong opponent." Pearl said, "Don't worry Steven, she'll be back in no time." She added, as she saw Steven's worried expression.

And indeed, Jasper was back a few minutes later. She didn't say anything, she sat down on the arena's stairs and looked at Pearl training Steven and Connie. She didn't say anything even when the training was finished and the four of them made their way towards the warp pad and went back home. Pearl went back to her room, Connie's mom came to bring her home, and Jasper… Jasper went to the beach and sat down on the sand, putting some distance between her and the sea. Steven thought it was better to leave her alone, so he went to his room and decided to play some videogames as he waited for her to come back. Amethyst however, didn't have the same idea. She looked at the big quartz through the window and decided to do something. It's true, Jasper had treated her like garbage, but… she was still her sister.

"Hey." Amethyst said, approaching her.

"Go away." Jasper grumbled.

"You know, you could really use a pause from being so grumpy." Amethyst said with a half laugh.

Jasper simply growled, but Amethyst kept walking towards her until she was at her side and sat down on the sand with her.

"Didn't you hear me?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to know what's wrong… you seem… sad about something?" Amethyst tried to guess.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Mmmm, you went to the arena with Steven and Connie… oh my gosh, did Pearl kick your butt?!" Amethyst asked.

Jasper seemed to shrink a little on herself.

"Eh, don't worry, she kicked mine too, hope that helps a little."

"You're joking right?! A Pearl has beaten me!"

"Well, it wasn't just a simple Pearl isn't it? Come on, even I have to admit she's pretty strong, but don't tell her I said that." Amethyst winked.

"I just… she was fast and… I didn't think she could summon another weapon so… so fast and I didn't even see her doing it!" Jasper threw her arms in the air.

"Yep, P's fast, strong and brave, so what? You got your butt kicked by the renegade Pearl, so did a lot of quartzes during the war, what's wrong with losing?"

"Of course you'd think it that way."

"What?" Amethyst's tone was suddenly tense.

"I… I didn't mean… what I meant is that you lost before, but… I shouldn't lose…"

"There will be always someone stronger than us, that's good, we can learn from them." Amethyst shrugged.

"There's nothing I want to learn from a Pearl." Jasper said shaking her head.

"Then you must be stupid."

"What?!" Jasper exclaimed, baffled by the little gem's insult.

"You say you're the perfect soldier, but if you really were, you'd have the dignity to admit that Pearl has kicked your butt and discover why, so that you can become a better fighter."

Jasper didn't answer, she didn't want to say Amethyst was right but… she was… that was what a soldier should be, what a warrior should be.

"I'm sorry, about all the… mean things I said to you." Jasper said in a hushed tone of voice.

"Is this Steven talking?" Amethyst half laughed.

"A bit… but also… it's me. You're… strong… for someone you're size and… you're brave, no doubt there."

"Thanks Jas."

"That's not my name,"

"I know."

Amethyst laughed and when she left, Jasper grinned, just a little smirk, but she did.

 **Hello guys! I'm baaaaaaack! Did you miss me? I'm sorry I took so long to write this, but we're almost at the ending, one chapter to go, maybe two, I'm not sure, however I'm glad that so many of you liked and followed my story, thanks for all the kind comments. Did you see the new episode?! Legs from here to Homeworld was incredible! I'm not going to spoiler anything but I loved the Diamonds in that episode, and the turn that the story took, also… a MOVIE?! REALLY?! I want it now! Do you think it will proceed from where the show left off? I personally think it will be a separate story, but we'll see. Okay, enough blabbering, to the next chapter!**


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